My Name is Bella Swan and
by mahikawuf
Summary: Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend Alice s older brother but he doesn’t see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.
1. Chapter 1

**The orginal characters belong to .. the twisted ideas of what I make the characters do is all mine *evil laugh***

**______________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Bella's POV**

So they say that admitting that you have a problem is half the battle and I'm going to pretend they know what they're talking about.

My name is Bella Swan, I'm 17 years old and I'm an Edward-aholic. Yeah, it's not really a disease, so fucking sue me. Well hell, that made me feel a whole hell of a lot better. NOT!

My life has been fucked up for as long as I can remember and it all revolves around Edward fucking Cullen.

I live with only a few truths in my life.

I love Edward Cullen

I hate Edward Cullen

Edward Cullen's sister is my best friend.

See there, I told you my life is fucked up. The most important person in my life is the sister of the person that is my love and my enemy all rolled up into one.

And all throughout growing up in Forks, WA, my life revolved around the asshole that was Edward Cullen. Did I mention my life was fucked up? Yeah, thought I may have.

Can you even imagine being in love with someone that doesn't even know you exist? Okay, that isn't quite right. He knows I exist all right. Enough to treat me like a bug he can squish on the fancy grill of his fancy silver fucking Volvo. I really hate him. I mean really hate him.

He seems to take great pleasure in rubbing my face in the fact that he overheard a fucking private conversation between his sister and I, where he got the idea that I was head over heals in love with him. It was true but I certainly hadn't wanted him to know about it, especially when I was only fucking 15 years old at the time. Once he had heard that, he had made it his mission in life, or at least it fucking felt like it, to make my life hell on earth which he and his friends thought was fucking hilarious.

And do you know what the worst thing is? My best friend in the whole world, Alice, is caught in the middle between us.

So maybe I should start at the beginning.

Alice and I met in kindergarten. I was the daughter of the Chief of Police and she was the daughter of the Chief of Staff of the Forks General Hospital. We hit if off immediately according to our parents and were inseparable from the moment we sat at the same table together. Edward, on the other hand, who was 2 years older than us, was a total little brat. Even when I was a child, I realized that there was something about him that drew people in. He used it. He was like the devil's spawn and his little friends Jasper and Emmett were his minions. They were quite willing to do anything he wanted them to and most of the time; he wanted them to pick on us.

So it was all through my childhood. You'd think that we would grow out of it but not us. When I got to the age that I started to really notice boys, who did my hormones kick up for? You got it, Edward fucking Cullen. He was like a rock star to me. He was allowed to date at 15 and there I was at 13 with my hormones in a tizzy over him. I got to hear all the details about his dates whether I wanted to or not. If I wasn't hearing it 2nd hand through Alice, I got to hear about it when Edward took to bragging about his conquests. I'd hated Edward ever since I knew what the word meant but that didn't stop me from falling in love with him too. Alice finally caught on that I had feelings for him the day he overheard us talking. I was mortified. We'd been talking in her bedroom about boys and we had forgotten to shut the door. I heard a noise in between my ranting about her brother and we both went to the door to find out what it was. There was Edward practically rolling in the hallway with laughter.

Believe me when I say that he was like a dog with a bone with that one. He hasn't let it go from that day and it's almost like he loves to torture me with his conquests of the opposite sex. Like I said, it was not something I wanted to hear. I think the worst thing of the whole situation was that my feelings for him coloured everything in my life. I couldn't even really get interested in another guy and, believe me, I tried. I would try to date guys in school, but they just weren't Edward. This is why I hate him. Whenever I tried to get close to another guy, all I could see was his gorgeous emerald green eyes, his sexy bronze hair, his nicely toned body (yeah, I probably didn't mention the pool parties I attended at the Cullen house), his nicely defined square jaw which he always wore a 4 o'clock shadow on, and his beautiful pianist hands. Everything about the man was sex on wheels.

So, what is a girl to do? Well, I came up with the brilliant idea that I was going to seduce Edward Cullen. Yeah, go ahead and laugh. Alice was all for the idea now that she was dating Jasper. Apparently Jasper had had a thing for her for years but didn't tell anyone. They hooked up at some party when they were both drunk and that was that. Now I had to listen to her talk about her wonderful sex life while I pined away for her brother. Yeah. My life is fucked up.

So, anyway, getting back to my seduction of Edward Cullen, Alice decided that it was a good idea and roped her very experienced cousin Rosalie into the planning. Now, I'm not being mean by saying Rose was experienced. She freely admits that she has had a lot of boyfriends and had sex with most of them. She is kind of a free spirit and basically just loves to be loved, I guess you could say. There was no way anyone would say anything bad about Rose though, especially to her face, she'd kick their ass.

So this was how it went down.

Alice and Rose decided to throw a pool party at the Cullen house last summer. Her parents were quite cool with it. They had a policy that their kids could have parties at the house as long as all car keys were locked in the safe when everyone arrived and if anyone wanted to leave, they took a cab. They even went so far as to create an account with the cab company so none of the kids needed money. We were all allowed to drink at their house at parties, with permission from our parents once we got to 17, but no one was allowed to drive.

So this party was planned during the summer right after Edward's senior year. He was supposed to go to college in September so it was also kind of a going away, end of summer party too. Alice invited practically the whole freaking school to it, which just happened to include every girl Edward had gone out with. I wasn't sure why she did it but it pissed me off, especially knowing that Tanya was going to be there. The bitch had hung around Edward all through high school and I know that they'd hooked up a few times. I also knew that she had done something to piss Edward off and he hadn't been near her since Christmas which was absolutely fucking fine by me.

But, I digress. They then decided that it was make-over time for Bella. So Alice took me shopping. She is totally and completely addicted to shopping. It there a 12 step program for that, I have to find it, because I really think she needs one.

They had me looking "hot" or so they said. I didn't even recognize myself when they were done. They had me in a tight royal blue mini dress that didn't leave anything to the imagination and matching pumps. It wasn't something I normally dressed in but I was willing to do anything at this point to get Edward's attention. I didn't feel any different except I was scared shitless that I was going to make a fool out of myself. Luckily, I talked them out of putting me in stiletto heels or there would have been a total disaster on their hands. I could just see myself falling off those and landing in the pool or something equally stupid. Did I mention that I'm one of the clumsiness people on the planet? If there is something to be tripped over, bumped into or fallen into, I will most assuredly find it. I think I spent more time in the Emergency room than anyone in town. Dr Cullen knew me quite well, beside me being friends with his daughter he saw me in the ER every other week. I was pretty sure he saw me more than my own father while I was growing up.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. The party. I wasn't sure how it all happened but the night was a disaster for me. Oh, wait a minute, its my life, how could it not be a freaking disaster. Three big things happened over the course of the night. I got a little drunk, I got into a fight with Tanya that included biting and hair pulling, I got more drunk, and I lost my virginity to Edward Cullen in that order. Ha. Bet you didn't see that one coming. That's just another reason on my list of why I hate him and Alice doesn't even know about this latest reason. Okay, it's not exactly that I lost my virginity to him that makes me hate him more, its that he acted like he didn't know it happened afterwards.

Yup. First I got a little drunk. Actually this part wasn't really my fault. Alice and Rose thought it would "loosen me up" for the big seduction scene. Funniest thing is, Edward didn't even recognize me when I walked into the party. I hadn't thought I really looked that different or maybe it was because he had started the party with Emmett and Jasper about 5 hours before anyone had arrived. I really wasn't sure if I should have felt insulted or complimented.

So, drinking led to me and Tanya getting into a really bad fight. Knock down; drag out, cat fight galore. Jasper and Emmett finally escorted her to a cab to take her home. It definitely wasn't a pretty sight but you know, I wasn't impressed that she kept rubbing herself all over Edward knowing he was too wasted to stop it. I'd had enough of her.

This made me drink even more and I guess it got to the point that I just went after what I wanted and what I wanted was Edward. So, knowing he didn't recognize me, I somehow managed to get him to dance with me. Rosalie had given me lessons in dancing over the previous 3 weeks while they planned the party and I had to admit, I was pretty good at it. She had taken lessons in belly and pole dancing and managed to teach all the steps to me. It was all arranged between Alice and Rosalie that as soon as Outside by Staind came on, I was to manoeuvre Edward out onto the dance floor and to my surprise, it actually worked. He looked at me with no recollection at all. He had no idea I was Bella, his kid sister's BFF. I knew I should have clued him in but by this point, I was determined to have him.

Even drunk, Edward was a fantastic dancer and Rose's lessons really did help me. We kept dancing as the music changed to Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon, Your Ghost by Kristin Hersh and finally Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy. By the end of the last song, I knew I had him in fine state of arousal. Somehow we made it up to his bedroom without anyone seeing us. Later, I was extremely grateful for this fact. I wasn't sure if I should be grateful or not that I remembered every single moment of the next few hours before my fairytale bubble was burst.

When we reached his bedroom, he led me over to the black leather couch and hit the remote for the stereo on our way by. I had to admit, he was the master at seduction even when he was intoxicated. Being that I was already in love with him, having Far Away by Nickelback come on as he started to kiss me was just about perfect. I could almost pretend that he knew who he was kissing and truly wanted me. Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion came on after as he shifted my body to lay across his lap and his kisses became more passionate. I'd read in novels about a man making a woman's toes curl but I had never thought it could happen outside of a book. He was so strong he moved me with little effort but his touch was so gentle it sent shivers throughout my body. As he started to kiss his way down my body from my lips, my head fell back to give him access to my throat, Fade by Staind started to play. He nibbled along my collar bone while his hands started to caress down my body. I felt the heat from his fingers course a path along my exposed skin. My hands moved up to grab his shoulders; my fingers gripping his shirt as my body shuddered at the feelings running through me. I felt his hands slowly undo the zipper of my dress. His hand moved around to my shoulder to draw my dress down my body as his lips came back to mine. His tongue teasingly licked my lower lip and I subconsciously opened my mouth as I moaned deep in my throat. I hear him moan in response has our tongues danced together in time with the music. Like the Rain by Clint Black came over the speakers and as we kissed with more passion than I thought possible, I could see Edward wet from being in the rain and my body shivered again. He gripped me tighter with one hand and moved his other to caress my now exposed breast. My back arched as he touched me and he moved his mouth down to take my nipple between his lips and gently sucked. The feeling was so intense I screamed out. I could feel his slight smile against me. He moved me off his lap, his mouth never breaking contact from my skin and laid me down on the couch. He sat up beside me for a moment, just looking down at me and for a moment I was afraid he was going to recognize me. I looked into his beautiful lust filled green eyes and reached up to caress his hair. I pulled hard and managed to invoke another moan from him and I pulled him down to kiss me once again. The couch was wide enough to accommodate 2 people laying side by side on it and he moved to lay next to me. He moved his hand to caress my other breast and the music changed again. How You Remind Me by Nickelback started to play as he moved his body down to continue kissing and caressing my body moving my dress out of the way as he went.

He kissed and caressed my stomach and my muscles quivered in reaction. I was starting to get a little nervous the lower he went. I'd only ever been to 2nd base with a guy. Edward was going a lot farther than that. I felt him push my dress off my feet as he caressed his hands down my legs. His lips brushed against the front of my panties and I could feel myself getting wet from his caresses. I raised my head to see what he was doing and our eyes met as he looked up at me through his wonderfully long lashes. He continued to kiss his way down until I felt him lick my centre through the thin material covering my folds. My hips gyrated in reaction and I could hear him moan again. I suddenly felt the pull of my panties being drawn down and his lips were right there. I could feel the flat of his tongue lap at my folds and his thumb found my clit and started to caress it in small circles. My legs closed in reaction and I was gripping his head between my thighs. He brought his other hand to slowly caress the inside of my thigh and my legs relaxed slightly. He put his tongue sharply inside me and then moved it up to take the place of his thumb on my clit. I screamed out his name, thankful that Bring Me To Life by Evanescence had started to play on the stereo. As my body was reacting to that sensation, he put a finger inside me and started to caress my sweet spot. This man was a master fiddler and my body was the fiddle. My breath was coming faster and faster as he added fingers and kept pushing them in and out of me. I could feel the heat rising in my stomach and I felt like I was being ripped apart with pleasure. He kept up the pace of his fingers until it felt like I wasn't going to be able to take it anymore. I screamed again as my body clenched around his fingers and his tongue continued to flick out at my clit. He raised his head to look at me through half closed eyes.

He was so sexy.

He slowly raised his body up and over mine, shucking his shirt as he did so. I reached out to caress his chest as he rose to kiss me again and I moved my trembling hands down to caress him through his jeans. He moaned into my mouth as he felt my hands rubbed the denim against the bulge straining against his fly. He reached down with one hand and undid his pants and I helped him push them down his legs with my feet. I whimpered as I felt his heated skin against mine. Music continued to play but I couldn't tell you at this point what songs were playing. My world now revolved around Edward and the fantastic feeling of him against me. I tensed a little when I felt the head of his dick against me but relaxed as he kissed me once again, teasing my tongue with his. He moved his hands underneath me to position my legs around his hips and I felt him slowly push into me. He was still for a moment while my body adjusted to his size and then he pushed all the way into me. I cried out as he broke through my hymen and he went very still. I breathed deeply as my body became used to the intrusion. He slowly withdrew until he was almost out of me and I gasped at the sensation. He pushed himself back in and then out. He adjusted my legs again to increase the sensations he was causing throughout my body. Damn he was good at this!

Edward kept the pace slow and sensual for a while until I could feel tension start to build in my body. He must have felt it too because he started increasing his pace until I was gasping his name and he was moaning. My hands moved to his hair and pulled roughly. He hummed and kissed me roughly. I reached down his back to hold him tightly to me. My breath started to come in great gasps as the sensations caused by the friction of his body in mine increased to a frenzy. His hands moved up to my shoulders and held me tightly as I could feel my body tense up and clench around his. The muscles within me milked him and we both cried out as I felt his release pour into me.

I collapsed on the couch with Edward on top of me. I laid there just enjoying his weight. A few minutes went by and I felt him pull out of me. I felt devastated by the loss. He didn't look at me as he got up and drunkenly grabbed his clothes from the floor at the side of the couch. He mumbled something as he wandered over to his bed and literally fell into it, passing out instantly from the alcohol and spent energy.

I lay there stunned for a moment, then slowly reached down and grabbed my dress off of the floor and stumbled into his bathroom, grateful he had his own. I cleaned up, dressed and went back into Edward's bedroom, silently walking up to his bed. I stood there and looked at him for a few minutes. He had moved around the bed so that his head was on his pillows and he was on his side facing me. I was just going to leave but couldn't resist reaching out and touching him, caressing his hair away from his face as my eyes started to tear up. He murmured something unintelligible and grabbed my hand. I waited a few minutes, tears silently falling down my cheeks and slowly withdrew my hand from his.

I loved him so much. It felt like he was so much a part of me that I almost couldn't breathe. I went over to the door and quietly opened it. I peaked out to see if there was anyone in the hallway and seeing no one there, I left his room and closed the door behind me.

I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand and wandered back downstairs. I wasn't sure what would happen next but I was a little afraid of the future now. Alice and Rose were downstairs when I reached the pool area and instantly came over to me. I didn't want to admit to Alice that I'd just had sex with her brother and he'd passed out afterwards. Their plan had worked but at what cost to me?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for reading the story. Let me know what you think. mahika on Twitter if you like Brit Boys :-)


	2. Chapter 2

**The orginal characters belong to .. the twisted ideas of what I make the characters do is all mine *evil laugh***

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friends older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

Thanks for the great reviews on this story. I loved that you all liked it and want me to continue. Chapters will more than likely trade off Edward and Bella's POVs mostly, with maybe others thrown in to clarify things as and if needed.

Check out my other story What If? If you're interested :-)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Edward's POV**

I slowly opened my eyes trying to determine exactly where I was. Roving my eyes around I could see that I was actually in my room lying on my bed stark naked. I closed my eyes and tried to remember how I'd ended up here. The last thing I hazily remembered was dancing with this knockout brunette with honey brown eyes. I couldn't remember seeing her before but something drew me instantly to her. Even as intoxicated as I was, I recognized the electricity between us.

As I lay there, images slowly started flashing through my mind of me kissing her; the two of us lying on the couch together, me taking off her dress, us having sex. The most fantastic sex I could remember having at that.

I sat up quickly as the realization of what happened came to me. I'd had sex with that girl! And I can't remember putting on a condom! Oh CRAP!

As I'd sat up, my head mutinied at the action and started throbbing. Why had I let Emmett talk me into those tequila shooters? It never failed that I did something stupid after doing those.

I vaguely remember her calling my name as she reached her orgasm so she knew who I was but who the hell was she?

I sat there with my head in my hands for a few minutes trying to get over the disorientation that I was feeling when I heard a knock on my door. Before I could say anything, the door opened and Emmett popped his head in.

Seeing that I was in the room, he opened the door wider and came in.

"Hey dude! What ya doing hiding away up here and where the hell did the sexy brunette you were dancing with go? You've been gone for like 4 hours!"

I glanced over at the clock on my nightstand and seeing that it was 1 am, I was surprised that he had waited so long to come and look for me

"Uhm, I guess I passed out for a bit. Must have been those damn shooters you talked me into."

"Yeah, right! I didn't have to twist your arm." He smirked at me. "So where are you hiding the hottie?" he turned towards the bathroom, looking inside.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Emmett. There's no one here but me."

"What!?! You had that hottie on the hook and what, you let her go? What the hell is wrong with you man?!"

Fuck! Had he seen us come upstairs?

"I haven't seen her so I guess she wandered off. I came upstairs to use my bathroom and the next I knew you were knocking on the door." I didn't feel like sharing what had gone on between me and my mystery girl. At least, not until I could figure out whom the hell she was and if this night was going to have consequences to my life. Hell I was going to college in a couple of weeks. I cannot believe how irresponsible I had behaved this night. My dad was going to kill me after ripping me to pieces. I had to find her!

I knew I had the reputation of a player throughout school but I was single and enjoyed the company of woman. I wasn't breaking any laws and I never made promises to anyone. Ever. I remembered why I'd started the party early. It was when Alice decided to inform me that her and Rose had invited everyone at the school including Tanya. The last fucking person I wanted to spend time with was that Bitch. I couldn't understand the purpose behind them including her so I just ended up drinking as soon as Jasper and Emmett showed up to the house, much to the chagrin of both my sister and my cousin. I'd heard early on in the party that Em and Jaz had ended up putting Tanya in a cab after some girl went psycho on her. They didn't know who the girl was; she'd disappeared before they had gotten to the scene leaving Tanya in a crumpled heap on the ground. I laughed myself silly when I heard that one. All I remember of her at the party was the feeling of her body rubbing on me and feeling completely disgusted about it but not having enough energy to push her away. The next thing I knew, she was gone and I was much happier.

Emmett gave me a strange look like he didn't quite believe what I was saying but suddenly shrugged and asked if I was going to come back downstairs.

Realizing I was sitting in my bed naked, I told him to give me a few and I'd meet him downstairs by the pool. "Have a brew waiting for me! I won't be long."

He nodded and left the room.

I got out of my bed and quickly used the head and got dressed, all the time wondering if my mystery girl was still downstairs at the party.

I knew I was still quite drunk but my little nap had sobered me up at least enough to negotiate the path to the pool without doing something stupid like falling down the stairs and to be aware of my surroundings. As I walked through the house, I noticed that there were still some people hanging around on the couches watching some sort of movie and others were just chowing down on what was left of the buffet that my mom had put out for us.

I wandered through the house and out to the pool. Em, Jaz, Alice, Rose and oh goody, Alice's BFF, Bella was there. The night just got better. I loved teasing the shit out of that girl. I knew she fancied herself in love with me but shit, she didn't even really know me. How the hell could she think she loved me? I had accidentally overheard a conversation between Alice and her a couple of years ago and they'd caught me laughing my fool head off in the hallway outside Alice's room. To say Bella had been pissed would be a complete and utter understatement. I always wondered if she'd, in fact, changed her mind about "loving me" that day because her attitude had really changed towards me after that.

We'd always had an antagonistic relationship since we were children but after she caught me overhearing their conversation, she got downright hostile towards me. I could admit to myself now that I was a utter asshole towards her even when I was little, and it all came down to me being jealous of her relationship with my little sister Alice. I had only been 2 when Alice was born and she'd been so tiny and delicate that my dad had told me that it was my job to protect her. I may have been only 2 but I remembered that and I took it really seriously. I was 7 when Alice and Bella met in kindergarten and became instant BFFs before it was a coined phrase and I felt shut out from their relationship. Even meeting Em and Jaz didn't help. Alice was my sister and she didn't need me. I wasn't doing my big brother job. As I got older, I regretted the animosity that had developed between us but I had to admit that teasing her had been an endless source of entertainment for me, Jaz and Em throughout these years.

I hadn't noticed her at the party earlier, but then she was dressed in jeans and a hoodie so she'd probably blended right in with everyone else, especially considering how intoxicated I'd been earlier. I took a seat between Em and Alice and took the beer he offered. I ruffled Alice's hair as I sat down, making her squeal and laugh. Bella just sat there not looking at me which I thought was kind of strange since her favourite thing to do for the past 2 years has been to glare holes in me.

I thought I'd try and be friendly since I was in a happy and highly satisfied mood despite the fact that I know I totally fucked up earlier. "Hey Bella. I didn't see you at the party earlier. Hope you've had fun."

Her head flew up and her eyes met mine. I was stunned by the pain that I saw in them, it actually hit me almost like a physical blow. At the same time, I realized I'd never actually looked into her eyes before. They were a stunning colour, like caramel. She immediately lowered her eyes and turned her head away. Rose reached over and put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug.

I looked over at Alice trying to catch her eye but she seemed to suddenly be obsessed with watching the stars above us. That was really strange too. What the hell was going on with these girls? Did something happen at the party to Bella? Did someone do something to her? She looked devastated about something.

I looked over at Jaz and he just shrugged his shoulders so it wasn't something that Alice had shared with him or that he knew about and Em looked at a total loss on what was wrong with the girls.

I knew I'd find out eventually what was going on. I always did if it concerned my little sister. I turned my attention to my beer for now but watched Rose and Bella out of the corner of my eye. Rose continued to rub her hand soothingly on Bella's back. Every once in a while I could see Bella quiver like she was crying or something. Even though I had been more than a dick towards her for years, there was no way I wanted to see her in the kind of pain I'd seen in her eyes just a few minutes ago.

We hung around the pool for a couple of more hours talking about nothing in particular. I kept glancing over at Bella but she kept her face well hidden by her hoodie and didn't talk much except in whispers to Rose or Alice when they asked her something directly. She didn't attempt to join in the rest of the conversation. I was actually a little worried about her which surprised me. I'd never had any particular feelings for Bella. She was just Alice's BFF and hung around the house more often than not. Tonight, I was feeling very protective of her and that was something I'd never felt for anyone other than Alice.

Before long, someone started yawning and I realized just how tired I'd become. My buzz had worn off about an hour ago and I hadn't even finished my beer. I said good night to everyone figuring that Bella would be crashing with Alice and Rose in Alice's room and Em and Jaz would be taking a couple of our guest rooms that Mom had made up before her and Dad went out. I was sure that Alice would be sneaking into be with Jaz at some point. Our parents room was in a different wing of the house than ours and the guest rooms for our friends so they were probably already home and in bed. As requested the music was always off by midnight and anyone that was going home had called for a cab.

As Em, Jaz and I entered the living room, I turned back to see Alice and Rose huddled close to Bella with their arms around her. I could faintly hear her sobbing against Rose's shoulder. I had to hold myself back from storming out there and demanding what the hell was wrong but I knew if I went out there they wouldn't tell me. I sighed and turned to follow Em and Jaz up the stairs. I couldn't figure out where these feelings were coming from concerning Bella.

As I went into my room, I flicked on the light switch by the door and went over to the table by the couch to grab the remote for the stereo. I couldn't go to sleep without some good music playing. As I bent down to grab it, my eyes fell on the couch. I frowned. There was something wrong. I looked closer and saw what looked like dried blood on the leather. My eyes widened. My hand went to my chest. My heart started pounding and it felt like it was going to jump out. The sound rushed to my ears. Oh my fucking gods. The girl had been a fucking virgin! My legs gave way and I sat down heavily on the couch, my head in my hands. I was a drunken idiot and had sex with a fucking VIRGIN! I shook my head, thinking that this just had to be a nightmare. I was still lying on my bed and Em was going to wake me up any minute. I peaked through my fingers at the couch. Nope. Not dreaming. This was a waking nightmare.

This could not be happening. How the fuck could I be so stupid? How could I not KNOW she was a virgin when I was having sex with her? Crap! Crap! Crap! I had to find this girl. I had to know that she was okay. How though? How was I going to find her? There was no way I was going to tell my parents or Em or Jaz about this. I felt like such a fucking ass!

I wasn't sure how long that I sat on the couch just staring at that spot. I slowly got up and went to the bathroom to grab a cloth and clean it up. I felt like a zombie. Numb. What was I going to do? Exhaustion finally took over my body and I made my way towards my bed, stripping my clothes off as I went. I fell on the bed and passed out.

What did you think of Edward's side of the story? Reviews make me smile :-)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So next up will be back to Bella. Edward wasn't so talkative in my other story tonight but wanted to talk a lot in this one, so this goes up instead of the next chappie in What If.

mahika on Twitter .. follow me if you like Brit boys LOL

2503 words


	3. Chapter 3

**The original characters belong to .. the twisted ideas of what I make the characters do is all mine *evil laugh***

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**A/N .. yes in this time line Edward is 19 and just going to university in Seattle. In my little world, he got extended pre-university courses at the high school he attended after his senior year. I love it that my world is anything I want it to be LOL**

**PS. I re-uploaded Chapter 2 to fix some grammatical errors. Nothing big, I'm just a perfectionist LOL**

**_____________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 3**

**Bella's POV**

Ok, so now I knew. I knew that Edward didn't know it was me in his room earlier that night. God that hurt. Why? I have no clue. I knew he hadn't recognized me while we were dancing. I didn't say anything to him to let him know that it was me. I didn't say "Hey, Edward. Did you know you're fucking Bella, your sister's BFF?" No I didn't say a fucking word except for moaning out his fucking name. So why did it hurt so much that he looked at me like he usually did (really it was nicer than he usually did) and actually told me that he hoped I'd had fun at the party?

I'd ended up telling Rose and Alice about what had happened and what I had done with Edward. I wasn't sure why I'd been hesitant to say anything to them. I knew neither of them would judge me for it. They both knew how I felt about him and what my plans were for that night.

I just didn't know how I would feel afterwards. Part of my emotions could have been from coming down from the buzz of being intoxicated before I went to his room with him. If I hadn't been so drunk, I honestly don't know if I would have gone through with having sex with him. But I knew beyond any doubt that I wanted Edward to be my first. No matter what else happened, he had to be the first for me. I didn't count on how deeply I would feel about it or how deeply it would hurt.

The other thing I remembered a couple of hours after I left Edward's bedroom, was that we hadn't used a protection. How could I have been so fucking stupid! I wanted to bang my head into a wall at that point. After talking with Alice and Rose, I changed into my comfort clothes and joined them around the pool with Emmett and Jasper. Emmett disappeared for a few minutes just before 1am and came back to say that Edward would be joining us shortly. I was terrified. What was I going to do? What if there were repercussions from my actions tonight? Crap, I was so fucking stupid!

Rose and Alice tried to reassure me, asking questions about where I was in my cycle but I couldn't even tell them that. Mine was all over the place and all I could do was cry once all of it hit me. I went from the height of euphoria in Edward's arms to absolute desolation when he turned away from me and passed out on his bed to extreme terror when I realized the exact scope of what I had done.

I said that I hate Edward Cullen, but the truth is I hate myself too. I was so desperate to be with him, I didn't think beyond that point. I'd been scared shitless that I wouldn't have the chance once he left for university in September. I had nightmares about him meeting some girl and not coming back to Forks, ever. Or of him bringing said girl home with him. I mean literally wake up screaming blue murder nightmares. I had a feeling that Edward didn't believe my feelings for him were anything more than a crush but they weren't. They were so much deeper than that.

And now? Now I had potentially bigger problems. The party had taken place only a week and a half before Edward was scheduled to leave for university in Seattle. In the time between the party and when he was scheduled to leave, he was acting really strange. Not like him at all. Miraculously, I even noticed this despite the turmoil I was going through myself. I couldn't figure out what it was that he was doing. He was on his phone a lot, not spending as much time with Emmett and Jaz and kept asking Alice and Rose over and over who all was at the party. They didn't go into details with me on what he was asking about but they kept saying it was really strange how he was behaving. He wasn't even torturing me

like he usually did when he found me at the house after he came in from one of his secret missions (what I started to call the times he disappeared with no explanation).

I honestly didn't know what to do. Should I come clean and tell him that I was the one he was with that night? Should I just keep quiet and let it go for now and decide what to do if there were actually consequences from that night? It hurt so much to think of never being with him like that again. It was almost like having an obsession, like a fan girl over a movie star. But I really couldn't help myself. My heart melted and my knees went weak every single time he came within my sight and to be near him was almost a pain and a euphoria beyond imagining. Sometimes he was so close I could reach out and touch him. I stopped counting the number of times I caught myself reaching out for him.

They say that there is a fine line between love and hate and I get that now. I was on the very edge of that sword. I was straddling both edges of that chasm.

I was visiting Alice one day a few days before Edward was supposed to go to and check out the dorms at the university and get registered when there was a huge commotion downstairs. We ran to the top of the stairs to see what was going on and could hear Edward and his dad fighting.

"You will be going Edward!"

"Dad, I can't! I just can't!"

"Why?" What the hell is more important than going to Seattle?"

"I can't tell you, Dad. I have to handle this myself. Let's just say I fucked up royally and I need to deal with it before I can do anything else."

"Well, you can go to school and let us deal with it. Just tell us what it is."

"No! You can't do anything! I did this, I have to fix it."

"Edward, just what the fuck are you talking about?"

I'd never heard Dr. Cullen so exasperated and angry with Edward before. The next thing Alice and I knew, Edward was flying up the stairs to his room, slamming the door behind him. We could hear him on the phone as we passed his door on the way to Alice's room.

He wasn't speaking very quietly so we could hear a little bit of his conversation.

"Look Paul, I HAVE to find out who she is! I'm consumed by this. I can't even think about going to Seattle until I have this figured out. You haven't found out anything at all?"

Paul was Alice and Edward's cousin on Esme's side of the family. He also went to our school and had been invited to the party but I hadn't seen him that night.

"Paul, I don't know what to do! I have to make sure she's okay. It's important!! No I'm not going to tell you the details dude! Just see if you can find someone that saw her there, please!"

Alice and I had looked at each other puzzled. What was Edward talking about? More importantly, WHO was he talking about? My heart had felt like it was breaking. Had he met someone? Was that it? I was never going to have the opportunity to show him just how much we belonged together? Okay, so I got pretty pathetic as I watched Edward going nuts trying to find some mystery girl. I wallowed in self pity for that period time.

Rose and Alice did their best to keep my spirits up but on top of the feelings I had about Edward, there was also the guillotine hanging over my head for the few weeks after the party.

I tried to hide how I was feeling whenever I was near the Cullen's house, especially whenever Edward was home but I must not have been doing a very good job. I overheard him asking Alice if I was okay one day. She did a good job at covering just saying I was just not feeling well. At least he accepted that with no questions. Not like he had ever been all that interested in how I felt or what I did before.

So it's now the Thursday before the Labour Day weekend. The day that Edward was supposed to go to Seattle and register at University but he hasn't left yet. He was looking more and more haggard as the days passed. He seemed obsessed with finding this person he was looking for. I was at the Cullen's for dinner that night when Carlisle brought up the subject of university with Edward again.

"Edward, I'm not sure what you are dealing with right now, but you have to get your butt to that registrar office in the morning. You are going to university and that is all there is to it. Your grandparents sacrificed a lot to make sure you kids had an inheritance to use for your higher education and you are not going to waste the opportunity they have given you."

Edward looked at his dad like he was in pain. "But Dad, I have to deal with what I did. I can't just leave it."

"You've spent almost 2 weeks trying to 'deal with it' as you say on your own and you haven't found anything. You won't discuss it with us so we have no way to help you. If you want to talk to us, I promise we'll be here to listen and help if we can."

Edward sighed deeply and I watched as his thoughts turned inward. He had the most expressive eyes. I wondered what had happened to cause this much anguish in him. Finally, he looked up at his dad with a defeated look.

"Yeah Dad. I think I better talk to you and mom about it. Can we talk after dinner?"

Alice and I looked at each other. Edward didn't turn to his parents unless he was at the end of his rope. He was extremely self reliant; sometimes too much so. This must be pretty damn serious for him to actually break down and talk to them about it.

I knew how he felt though. I didn't want to discuss what I did with him with anyone. I broke down and talked to Alice and Rose only because they knew most of it already and I was too emotional at the time to stop myself. I tended to internalize most stuff and I never talked to Renee, my mom about things. This one thing in particular I couldn't ever talk to my dad, Charlie, about. He'd fucking kill Edward even though I was just as much to blame probably more so. My father was extremely protective of me.

After dinner, Alice and I spent time in the family room watching some movies. We were just heading up to her room when Edward came around the corner to head up to his. He looked crushed. Like the end of his world had happened in that small amount of time since dinner. He stopped when he saw us on the stairs and tried to give us a smile.

Alice went down the few steps to him and asked if he was okay as she grabbed him around the waist and gave him a hug. He bent his head down to her shoulder and hugged her back before stepping away.

"I'll be fine Alice. Don't worry about me."

"Edward, I love you. Of course I'm going to worry about you."

Alice let him go by her on the stairs; he gave me a little smile that didn't reach his eyes as he went by me. I gasped at the look into them; I actually physically hurt. His brilliant emerald eyes seemed dulled by whatever had transpired between himself and his parents.

As he left us standing on the stairs, Alice turned to me with tears in her eyes. She hated seeing her brother in pain. They were as close as two siblings could be without being twins. Even though she and I had spent a lot of time together while growing up, I knew how close she was to him. He was her protector no matter how much he'd liked to tease her and she felt the same about him. She would move heaven and earth to make sure no one messed with her big brother Edward.

I gave her a hug and we followed Edward upstairs where we split off to her room as he went into his. He shut the door behind him and we heard his stereo start up; Metallica's Fade to Black. (**link to lyrics at end of Chapter**)

Okay, so that didn't sound good at all. Alice looked at me with wide eyes.

I was spending the night so we settled into her room with more videos but we could still hear music coming from Edward's room. Music that was brooding, angsty and really dark; not at all what he normally listened too.

Alice, Rose and I are starting school after the weekend so we had decided to go shopping in the morning for new clothes to at least last until Christmas. It was our final year and Alice and Rose were determined that I was going to come out of my shell, dress up nice and make more friends. I didn't want to but if you ever get the chance to meet these two, don't try to argue with them. You will definitely not win.

I wasn't sure if I was in the mood to deal with shopping tomorrow. Between my anxiety over waiting to see what happens with me and all the angst I saw in Edward, I really just wanted to crawl into a hole and bury myself in it until everything blew over. I was sure that Edward was feeling the same way given his taste in music tonight. By the time midnight rolled around, I felt so depressed that I just told Alice I wanted to go to sleep and did. I would just have to deal with everything tomorrow because I'd definitely had enough today.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

lyrics here for Fade to Black:

http://www(dot)lyricsfreak(dot)com/m/metallica/fade+to+black_

2552 words

Posted on Oct 13-09


	4. Chapter 4

**The orginal characters belong to .. the twisted ideas of what I make the characters do is all mine *evil laugh***

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friends older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

Thanks to all the new followers of this story. Glad you like it. Please let me know with a review!

__________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter Four**

**Edward's POV**

I was slowly going completely out of my mind. I couldn't find a trace of the girl I'd been with at the party. Paul was coming up with no leads and he'd talked with everyone in the school.

I knew I was starting to worry everyone by the way I was acting but I had to figure out who she was. I needed to know if she was okay. I kept seeing those eyes; they were haunting me, day and night.

How could I explain to everyone what a fucking moron I'd been? Yes, the girl had been a willing participant as far as could remember, I mean, she knew me, but then I was drunk and I'm pretty sure she was too. My mom had raised me better than to take advantage of a girl like that. I was completely disgusted with myself. I hadn't even had the nerve to talk to Em and Jaz about it. Paul didn't even have the full story. I just told him that I needed to find this girl because she'd caught my interest. I certainly wasn't going to let on that there was more to it than that. There was also the fact that I hadn't used protection with this girl. I'd never ever been either so carried away or so drunk that I'd forgotten to use a condom in all my past sexual encounters. I knew that it did no good to beat myself up over what had already happened. It was done and I couldn't change what an ass I'd been. I'd have to deal with the consequences of my actions but I just hoped that this girl was alright. I didn't have my head so far up my ass that I didn't realize that a girl's virginity was important to her and shouldn't have been taken in a night of drunken fumbling.

I knew my parents were getting really pissed at my behaviour since the party and especially about my reluctance to go to school in Seattle until I straightened out the mess I'd created. But that was nothing compared to their reaction tonight when I told them the reason behind my behaviour for the last 2 weeks. I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack and my mom just looked at me with disappointment written all over her face. I think that's what killed me the most, knowing I'd disappointed my mom.

Alice was getting worried about me too. I saw the tears in her eyes when she hugged me after I'd talked with our parents. I wasn't sure why she was so emotional about something bothering me but I knew she wanted me to talk to her about what was going on. There was absolutely no way I was going to tell her. Besides, I knew she was helping Bella with something and she didn't need my crap on top of that. I was actually getting quite concerned about Bella myself and I had no idea where these feelings were coming from. In the time since the party, she'd been at our house more than hers and I would come across her alone in a room crying when Alice was otherwise occupied. A couple of times I almost asked her what was wrong but when she noticed me in the room, she got this terrified look on her face and ran out. I knew I'd been a total ass to her in the past but I hadn't done anything lately so I couldn't figure out what her problem was. I'd also catch her watching me when she thought I didn't notice and the look in her eyes was almost physically painful to look upon. Something serious was going on with her and I sincerely hoped that Alice was going to be able to help her. I was pretty sure she wouldn't let me do anything to help.

I immersed myself in some depressing music for awhile after the talk with my parents. They weren't sure how they were going to help but my father had said that he would contact his private detective and see if he could do anything. I didn't know how the guy could help but I wasn't going to turn away any help at this point. I was at my wits end. I'd even been haunting the end of summer parties (and staying sober, I might add) in hopes of catching a glimpse of this girl.

I almost wished at times that there were repercussions from that night just so she would contact me about it, although there were no guarantees that she would do that either. She may decide to take care of it all by herself. At that thought, my breath caught and my heart started to pound. What if she was pregnant? What if I never knew? I loved kids. It hadn't been Alice who was the babysitter for our parents' friends, it'd been me. This was a great source of amusement for Em and Jaz to be sure. How would I feel if I found out that the girl had had an abortion? Or even given my child away without me even having a say in the matter? I knew that the law said that the father now had a say in this type of thing but I'd have to find her first.

As I lay on my bed listening to the music, I could picture in my mind the girl's beautiful brunette hair, honey brown eyes, porcelain skin and could even picture what a child of ours would look like. For fuck's sake! What was I doing? I was too young to have kids. I had to stop this damn day dreaming and hope like hell that this doesn't happen.

My parents had put their foot down and were forcing me to go to Seattle tomorrow to finish registering and check out my place. I really didn't want to with all this hanging over my head but I couldn't argue with them anymore. They were right whether I liked it or not, my grandparents had sacrificed a lot to make sure they could give us kids the chance to go to university and I couldn't just throw that away. I still missed them. I'd been hoping to put it off a bit but that was not an option now.

Dad was going to drive me to the university tomorrow and check with his PI while I was doing all the paperwork required by the university for the classes I'd signed up for and housing that I'd gotten.

I finally drifted off to sleep with visions of my mystery girl in my mind, which didn't really make for a fitful sleep at all. The more I thought of her, the more I wanted to know her. There was a connection there that I'd never felt for a girl before. An electrical charge shifted between us when we touched and our bodies had moved together like they belonged to each other. I may have been pretty drunk but I do remember the way she had felt in my arms, the way her ivory skin felt when I caressed it, the way she tasted when I kissed her. I couldn't get the memory of the taste and scent of strawberries out of my mind. I wanted to have that taste again. I wanted my senses to once again be filled with her. I kept telling myself that all I wanted was to make sure she was okay but I was lying to myself. I wanted to be with her while I was sober so I didn't miss a single thing this time. But I had to find her first and who's to say that she would actually want anything to do with me. After the way I behaved that night, I would be lucky if she ever wanted to lay eyes on me again.

I was woken up to someone pounding on my door and when I looked over at the clock noticed it was 10am already. I heard my father yelling at me to get my ass out of bed, informing me that we were leaving in 30 minutes whether I was ready to go or not. I got up with a groan and stumbled my way to the bathroom to shower and get ready, meeting him downstairs within his half an hour time limit. The last thing I wanted was for him to come in and drag me out of my room.

We got to the university in plenty of time for me to fill out the paperwork and Dad left me there while he did a few errands. I barely noticed the girl behind the counter at Student Services flirting with me. I wasn't interested. I wasn't about to go chasing tail when I was already in a bad situation of my own making.

After I finished up the paperwork, checked out the housing and introduced myself to my room-mate Ben, I went down to the courtyard of the school to wait for my Dad to show up. Ben was a nice enough guy. His girlfriend Angela had been with him so at least our room was one of the fancier ones of the place. Ben also had an inheritance that paid for his school and more. Our room, if you could call it that, was actually like a suite with 2 bedrooms, a mini kitchenette and a living room area in between. I had never been so glad to have my inheritance for my schooling. No student loans and no cramming into a little tiny dorm room with 1 or 2 other guys.

By the time Dad had pulled up, I was ready to walk home. I guess you could call me impatient but I guess that comes with how I was raised. Instant gratification was a part of everyday life for me; at least it was until recently. I hadn't had any gratification of any kind in the past 2 weeks if I was honest.

We got home in time for the dinner than Mom had lain out for us and for a change everyone was there. I was surprised that Alice's shadow Bella wasn't present tonight. She'd been a fixture in the house for more than the past two weeks and especially since the party. I'd been starting to wonder if she had just moved in and no one had told me. If I was honest with myself, it really hadn't bothered me seeing Bella here all the time. I overheard a few conversations between her and Alice and was amazed at just how intelligent and mature of a person she was. Okay, that sounded rather rude but given that I had never given myself a chance to really get to know her, it's a step up from how I usually saw her.

I guess I was finally allowing myself to see Bella as a person and not just as someone that stole my little sister from me. One evening while we were all hanging in the living room watching some silly movie, I'd found myself surreptitiously watching her. She had actually grown into an attractive girl. I was pretty taken aback that she didn't already have a boyfriend; that I knew about anyway. She must be feeling a little left out now that Alice had started seeing Jasper. I still wasn't sure how I felt about that but I'd given Jasper my big brother speech and he knew I'd deck him if he ever hurt her.

It looked like I was in for an early night tonight. Emmett was otherwise engaged with some mystery date he wouldn't tell us about and Jasper and Alice had plans as well. I figured I'd try to get a hold of Paul and see if he had anything new to report. I wasn't hopeful though. My mystery girl seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth.

On Friday and Saturday there were end of summer parties to go to and since I didn't have to head to Seattle until Monday for classes on Tuesday, I thought I would go check them out. I'd given up expecting the girl to show up at any of the parties held so I was just going to try and forget about this crap for a couple of evenings and try to have some fun.

I spent all day Friday organizing stuff I wanted to take to Seattle. Mom and Dad had gotten me furniture for my bedroom and it was already sitting out in the moving truck outside in the driveway. I just had to add my clothes and other essentials. Mom had even gone out and shopped for some grocery staples for me. All I needed to do is buy the perishables when I got into town on Monday.

I was hauling stuff out to the truck later in the afternoon when I saw Bella walking up the street to the house. It was strange to see her walking; she usually was in that decrepit old truck of hers that looked about ready to fall to pieces anytime. I really didn't understand why her father let her drive that piece of shit. It certainly couldn't be all that safe.

She was walking with her hoodie up and her head down so she didn't see me until she was almost right in front of me. She stopped suddenly and almost fell over. I grabbed her shoulders to prevent her from hitting the ground and a surge of electricity ripped right through my whole body landing in my groin. My dick was suddenly as hard as granite. I almost let go of her in my shock. What the Fuck?! I'd never had that happen before other than that vague alcohol hazed memory of it something similar happening with my mystery girl.

After I made sure she wasn't going to fall over, I let her go and stepped back. She looked up at me and turned her head, noticing for the first time the moving truck. I heard her gasp and saw her eyes widen as if she just realized what it was. She looked back at me and I was mesmerized by the look of anguish on her face. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen.

"Bella. What's wrong?" I asked her as I reached out to grasp her shoulders again.

She opened her mouth as if to say something but nothing came out. Her eyes filled with tears and started falling silently down her cheeks. In all the years I'd known Bella, I had never noticed that her eyes were the colour of liquid honey; they were beautiful. I shook my head to clear it, having no idea where these thoughts were coming from.

Bella just kept looking back and forth between me and the truck. I don't know what made me do it but I drew her towards me and put my arms around her at the same time trying to keep the lower part of my body away. I didn't need her to know this unexpected affect she had on me, especially when she seemed to be in such distress. She started to sob into my shoulder. I held her more tightly. She sobbed like her heart was breaking and I had no clue what it was about. If it was because of some guy, I was tempted to kick his ass.

I wasn't sure how long we stood like there with her in my arms and her crying into my shoulder but the next thing I knew, Rose was getting out of her car and running towards us.

"What the hell did you do to her Edward?" she screamed at me as she grabbed Bella out of my arms and drew her up the driveway towards the house. She opened the front door and yelled for Alice.

"What the hell are you talking about Rose?" I screamed after her, following her up to the house. "I didn't do anything! She just started crying and I was trying to comfort her!"

"Leave her the fuck alone Edward! You've done enough!"

I had no idea what she was talking about and I was getting a little pissed off at the sudden attitude from her. I hadn't done anything to Bella. I'd never even touched her! I watched as Alice came tearing down the stairs and took position on the opposite side of Bella from Rose and put her arm around Bella's waist. Bella just kept on sobbing like she couldn't stop.

I saw Rose say something to Alice and Alice gasped and started pulling the other two upstairs to her bedroom. Bella could hardly walk even with their help.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

OO.. what's up with Bella? So does anyone want to hear Alice or Rosalie's POV?

/mahika on Twitter .. follow me if you like cute Brit boys LOL

2908 words

Posted on Oct 17, 2009


	5. Chapter 5

**he original characters belong to .. the twisted ideas of what I make the characters do is all mine *evil laugh***

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**________________________________________________________________**

**I am currently looking for a Beta for this story and my other one "What If", if anyone reading is registered as one and is interested just send me a DM ;-)**

**And now on to the story . . . **

**________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 5**

**Bella's POV**

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I did not just have a total breakdown in from of Edward Cullen! Yeah. Fuck my life. I did. Could my life get any worse? Oh wait. It actually could.

I still didn't know if there were going to be any consequences from the night I was with him and I was too fucking chicken to go to the Doctor to find out or to even go and buy one of those pregnancy tests. I couldn't even get the nerve up to ask Rose to get one for me. I'd not been feeling to well in the last few days but I couldn't be sure if it was because I was so stressed out over worry or because I might actually be pregnant. Oh fuck. I actually put it into words in my mind.

I was torn between wanting to be having his child so I'd forever have something of him and knowing that if I was it could screw up both of our lives. I had known his parents were going to eventually force him into going to Seattle to school and it felt like my heart was being torn into a billion pieces. I knew for sure that they had when I walked up the driveway right into Edward and saw him putting things into the moving van that hadn't been there when I'd left their house the day before. I just broke. It had felt like my world was suddenly being ripped away from me. I wasn't sure how I would force myself to function without being able to see him. After our night together, I was even further in love with him; it was like he was in every cell in my body, he was every breath I took, every beat of my heart.

I knew I should tell him what had happened that night but every single time he had asked me what was wrong since the party, I couldn't speak. I'd always end up running out of the room. He probably thought I was fucking crazy.

How do you tell someone that laughed at you for saying that you were in love with them? How do you tell someone that made fun of you that you were the one that they'd sex with but don't remember? Alice and Rose kept telling me that I really had to tell him. That he did have the right to know it was me and he should be worrying right along with me about whether I could be knocked up or not.

When Rose grabbed me away from Edward I almost fought her off. I was in his arms again and I didn't want to leave. I think I cried even harder when she took me into the house. She called for Alice and I couldn't hear what she said over my sobbing. I knew I was close to a panic attack and that I had to try and calm down. The last thing I needed was for Dr Cullen to have to check me out or try to prescribe something.

They took me up to Alice's room and I could hear Edward behind us trying to figure out what the hell was wrong and why Rose had screeched at him when she grabbed me away.

Although my tears had lessened, I was gasping for breath when they sat me down on Alice's couch. When would I see him again once he left for Seattle? Would I see him again?

Rose and Alice were looking at me like very strangely. I could tell that they were debating on whether to get Alice's father or not. I couldn't seem to stop the panicky feeling from over taking me. Was this feeling what it was like to have a soul mate? Was it this feeling of emptiness and despair at the thought of being away from them? I hadn't felt like this before we had been together but that's how I felt now. I could still feel the electricity that went between us, even when he had barely touched me in the driveway. My body tingled at the thought and when he had hugged me to him, my body had been instantly aware of his.

I thought back over the other day when I'd overheard Jaz and Emmett say that Edward was planning to go to the weekend parties and I was almost tempted to see if I could be with him again. He would get drunk with his BFFs at the parties, there was a chance right?

Okay. Now how pathetic am I really? I couldn't tell him what had already happened but I wanted to accost him when he was drunk again? Fuck my life! Could I do it? Did I have the guts? Being near him just a few minutes ago made the urge to do it that much more powerful.

The more I sat there and thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. My last chance to ever be with him, anyway I could. My breathing started to slow down the more determined that I became. Alice and Rose were still watching me closely, probably expecting hysteria at any moment. I took one last breath and looked at them.

"Are you guys going to the parties this weekend?"

Alice looked at me like I was from another planet, no doubt because she new that I actually hated parties. I only went to hers because she was my best friend.

"Uhm yeah. Jasper wants to go and with those skanks from school going there's no way that I'm letting him go alone."

Rose looked at me with a funny look, almost like she knew what I was thinking. "Ah, yeah. About that." She looked away from the both of us for a moment. "I'm going with Emmett."

"What was that, Rose? I thought we just heard you say you're going with EMMETT?" Both Alice and I squeaked out, our mouths hanging open in shock.

She actually blushed. "Yes, I'm going with Emmett. We've kind of been seeing each other."

"What?!?!?!" We hope screamed at her. Alice jumped up off the couch and grabbed her hand, hauling her back to sit with us. "DISH sister!"

"I don't want to say much because I'm not sure where it's going but yeah, we've been going out all this week."

"That's why Em has been disappearing on Jaz and Edward!" Alice was jumping up and down on the couch.

"Yeah. Anyway." Rose looked over at me. "Why were you asking about the parties? Are you thinking of going?"

It was my turn to blush. "I was thinking about it. Last parties of the summer and all that."

"Come on Bella. What's really going on in that brain of yours? You don't go to parties."

I felt myself blushing even more. Why did Rose have to be so perceptive? I looked over at Alice and she was looking at me in shock.

"Bella! No! You can't!"

I looked away from both of them when I felt tears well up in my eyes.

It finally dawned on Rose what I was thinking, "Oh leave her alone Alice. It's not like you wouldn't do it if you were in her place and Jaz was leaving. Give her a break. She's head over heels for your brother and the idiot is too blind to see it."

I turned back to look at Rose with surprise. Her eyes met mine and I saw the sympathy in them. I knew she was on my side and I knew Alice loved both me and her brother. I could see why she reacted like she did but she had to know how I felt. Rose was right; I could see Alice moving heaven and earth to be with Jasper if he was leaving.

Alice didn't want to get involved, her loyalties torn between the two of us so Rose said that she would help. I'd go over to her house before the party tomorrow night and she'd help me get ready. She even suggested that Emmett and she would give me a ride.

Now that I had calmed down, Alice and Rose decided to go down to the family room and grab some movies for us to watch. I elected to stay in Alice's room and avoid running into Edward again. I didn't think that my emotions could handle seeing him again tonight. I had been going to spend the night with Alice but after what happened, I told her that I would do so another night. It was a nice night out and I knew I could walk home with no problems. After we watched a couple of movies, I headed out. We'd heard Edward go out with Em and Jaz earlier but he hadn't come back yet so I knew I wouldn't run in to him as I was leaving.

I was about halfway home when I saw his car drive by me. I tried to just put my head down and keep walking, pretending I hadn't noticed but he must have noticed me because his car suddenly whipped around and came back to where I was. He rolled down the window and yelled out at me. I tried to ignore him and keep walking but he was persistent to the point of yelling at me that he'd just park the car and walk with me if I didn't get my ass in the car now.

The last thing I wanted was to get in the car with him after my emotional breakdown earlier but it didn't look like he was going to give up any time soon. I sighed and walked around to the other side of the car where the passenger door had been pushed open. I'd ridden in his silver Volvo a couple of times before but never without Alice present. It felt completely weird to be in his car alone with him but at the same time, it felt right.

I glanced over at him through my eyelashes and saw that tonight Edward was wearing a pair of black jeans that formed to him like a second skin and a black shirt of which he had left the top two buttons open. His hair was tousled like he'd been running his fingers through it or someone else had. A pang of jealousy ran through me at the thought of someone else touching him. I felt like a she-wolf wanting to stake a claim on her mate and tell all the other bitches to back off.

He looked over at me after we drove for a couple of blocks and asked why I was walking home. Why hadn't I stayed with Alice? I made the decision to just tell him I hadn't been feeling well and wanted to go home. It sounded like a bogus reason even to my ears and I knew Edward thought so too from the look on his face. He knew damn well sick or not that I always stay with Alice once I get to the house. I've never actually left and gone home before.

We drove on in silence for a minute when I suddenly really did feel ill. My body started to feel cold and clammy, sweat beaded up on my forehead and my stomach turned nauseous.

"Edward! Pull over!"

He looked over at me sharply and I guess the look on my face said it all. He whipped the car over to the side of the road and I quickly flung open the door. I bolted over to some trees and started heaving using one of the trees to support myself. I felt Edward come up behind me.

"Bella, are you okay?"

I couldn't answer. There wasn't much in my stomach but whatever was there my body had decided to get rid of it pronto. He put his hand on my back and started rubbing it. Instantly my body reacted to his touch; despite my predicament at the moment a warm feeling started coursing through me.

I felt him hand me something and realized it was a tissue and a piece of gum. I was amazed that he could be so thoughtful towards me. It was so strange to have him actually be nice to me after so many years of him acting like a dick. He helped me back to the car and I could tell he was concerned about me.

"Bella? Are you feeling better now?"

"Not really. I still feel really nauseous."

He got the car back on the road and sped to my house. As we pulled in the driveway I noticed that my Dad's cruiser wasn't here which meant he'd either had a call or was working late. He hadn't really expected me to be home tonight so I wasn't surprised if he'd stayed late.

I was, however, surprised when I realized that Edward had gotten out of the car and followed me to the door. I unlocked it and went inside and he was right on my heels. My suspicions of the location of my Dad were confirmed as I looked on the activity board we have in the kitchen to let each other know what we were dong. It'd worked great over the summer when we both had such hectic schedules; me with Alice and Rose and him with work and other stuff. He'd covered for a lot of his men when they'd their summer vacations and the board let me know when he was working, or when he had a few days off he went fishing with Billy, his friend from La Push Reservation.

Tonight I wished he was actually at home. It wasn't often these days that I wanted to just be with my Dad but tonight was one of those nights. I almost wished I could go back to those days when I could climb on his lap and he would make all the monsters in my life fade away. Unfortunately, the monsters in my life right now were all of my own making and I couldn't even tell him about them.

"Bella? You okay? Is your Dad going to be home soon? Do you want me to call someone?"

Edward looked at me a little confused as I muttered in reply. "No. No. No."

"I'm not comfortable leaving you here alone after you were just sick, Bella. I think I should call my Dad and get him to come over and check you out."

"NO!" I practically shouted at him and I knew he could see the panic on my face before I quickly turned away from him.

"What the hell is wrong, Bella? You're definitely not acting like yourself. You haven't been for a while now. Obviously you've been talking with Rose and Alice about it but they don't seem to be helping much."

"I can't talk about it with you Edward."

"Well, if you don't want to talk about what is wrong with you, can I talk with you about something else?"

I looked at him warily and nodded my head slightly. He grabbed my hand and led me out to my living room to the couch. We sat down and he turned to me with a very serious expression on his face. I was starting to get worried. Had he figured out it was me that night? Was that why he wanted to talk? Oh crap! And I'd just gotten sick in front of him. He's going to go ballistic if he puts that together with us having sex that night!

He took my hand in his and looked into my eyes. Something flickered in his for a moment as our eyes met and his brow creased like something had occurred to him. He looked at me for another few seconds and then shook his head as if to clear it.

"Look Bella. I know I've been a dick towards you in the past but I'd like to start over with you. I guess I've kind of grown up in the last little while and realized I was such an ass because I was jealous of your relationship with Alice right from the start. I'm really sorry about how I treated you. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

I literally stared at him in shock. It was the very last thing that I expected him to say to me. I didn't know how to respond. It was like a dream come true. Was he saying he wanted to be friends or more even? I could feel my heart rate increase and my head got a little fuzzy. I wasn't sure if that was from the nausea or his touch.

"Uhm. What do you mean start over?" It was the first thing I could think of to say even though my mind was spinning over what he'd just said.

He kept looking at me and I felt his other hand also move to hold mine while one slowly moved up my wrist. My pulse increased even more. I was almost afraid to hear his response. I kept expecting him to say "fooled you" at any minute like he would have before. I really hoped he wasn't being an ass to me right now. I'd lose it and probably end up in the loony bin.

"I mean I'd like to forget about all the crap that has happened between us in the past. Crap I initiated definitely. I'd like to get to know you all over again. Maybe be friends?"

I looked into his eyes, searching for any kind of hint that he was joking about this but couldn't see anything but sincerity. Oh My Gods! He was serious about this. He really wanted to try and be friends with me! I didn't know what to say. My mouth opened but no words seemed to come out.

"Edward .. I .. " I got no further when all of a sudden my stomach protested and I ripped my hand from his and ran out of the room to the downstairs bathroom. When I finally came out, Edward was standing just outside in the hallway.

"That's it Bella. I'm taking you to see my father!" He went to grab my hand but I avoided him and walked towards the living room again with him right behind me.

While I'd been in the bathroom, I decided Rose and Alice were right. I had to tell him. This was getting too much. If I was pregnant, I needed to figure out what to do. If this was just a flu or a physical reaction from knowing he would be gone by Sunday or Monday, I needed to know that too. I just hoped he didn't hate me after I spilled everything.

Once we were back into the living room, I turned to him with determination.

"Edward. Can you please sit down? I need to talk to you about something and you may change your mind about us starting over when you hear it."

He looked at me very puzzled but did as I asked and sat down on the couch.

I stayed standing because I didn't think I could say what I had to if I was anywhere near him. I walked over to the window and stood looking out for a few minutes trying to think of what to say and get up the nerve to say it. I took a deep breath and turned back to look at him.

"Edward. I have something to say and I would kind of like you to just listen until I'm finished before you say anything. Please don't hate me."

_______________________________________________________________________________

3,361 words

Posted October 19, 2009


	6. Chapter 6

**The original characters belong to S. Meyer.. the twisted ideas of what I make the characters do is all mine *evil laugh***

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**______________________________________________________________________**

**They finally talk.......  
**

**_______________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 6**

**Edward's POV**

I wasn't completely sure what Bella wanted to tell me but I could tell it was pretty serious as far as she was concerned and I was almost afraid that I knew what it was.

To be honest, I hadn't been able to get her off of my mind all evening while I was with Em and Jaz. I couldn't get over the feelings and the physical reactions that I'd had when I had taken her in my arms while she'd had the breakdown in the driveway earlier. That hadn't happened before. Well, to be honest, I'd made sure that I was never physically that close to Bella so there was not much of a chance of anything happening. I'd kept my distance after overhearing her declaration of her love for me to my sister a couple of years ago. I definitely hadn't wanted her to get the wrong idea about my feelings on the matter even though I knew she had been hurt greatly when I'd laughed about it. I also knew now that I should have kept my mouth shut and not told Em what she'd said. He liked to give people a hard time and never gave up any chance to tease her. I was just glad that he'd never shared that piece of information outside of our immediate circle of friends.

I was starting to think her behaviour over the last little while was somehow connected to me. Rose's words had gotten me thinking. What was it that I'd supposedly done to Bella that would hurt her so badly?

At first I thought she was just talking about how I had treated Bella over the years but there was just too much venom in Rose's voice for it to be just that. I had a sinking feeling starting in my gut while I was driving home. Then I'd almost driven right past Bella walking home from our place. Dressed in dark clothes with her hoodie up over her head, she all but vanished in the dark. Why she was going home I had no idea but it was extremely strange for her to go home once at our house. Something was definitely wrong with this picture.

I'd pretty much forced her to get into my car and then I'd had to pull over while she'd gotten sick on the side of the road. Visions of "that" night had started to flash in my mind while I'd been rubbing her back. Brown hair, honey brown eyes, the way my name had been spoken. I knew. I didn't know what to feel at that point. Should I say something now? Should I wait? Given her emotional state earlier that day and how she'd just been sick, I decided to wait. I also realized that this is what Rose had been so pissed off about.

When we'd gotten to the house, I realized that Charlie wasn't even home. I didn't feel quite comfortable leaving her in an empty house if she was sick so I got out of the car and followed her. I was pretty sure she hadn't expected me to come into the house with her but I wanted to see if there was any indication that Charlie would be home anytime soon or if he would be gone for the night. I was almost tempted, despite her protests, to call my Dad and get him over to check her out. Even more so when she up and ran into the bathroom suddenly shortly after getting inside, I'd even had my phone in my hand when she'd finally came back out.

Now I sat on the couch waiting for Bella to tell me what she had to. I held perfectly still while I waited for her to compose herself. She turned back to me and asked me to just listen and not to say anything until she was finished. I felt the nervousness and almost terror rolling off of her. I knew what she was going to say. She was going to admit that she was my mystery girl. The girl that I could vaguely remember but yet had such a connection with that she'd haunted me day and night since that night. She was the girl that I'd been looking for these past couple of weeks; the girl that I hadn't been able to find because she was right under my nose all this time. It was almost a good thing that she had asked me not to say anything until she had said what she needed to because I wasn't sure that I wouldn't blow up at her if I tried to say anything.

She looked at me with those beautiful brown eyes, took a huge breath and said point blank "Edward, I'm the girl that you had sex with the night of the party."

I just sat there and looked at her. I'm sure I was in some sort of shock even though my though process had already brought me to the same conclusion. I wasn't sure how it didn't dawn on me before this. I guess because I'd never thought that Bella would be the type of girl to just jump into having sex with a guy. Especially a guy that was quite obviously drunk. Not to speak shit about my cousin but I could see Rose pulling this kind of stunt but not Bella. She'd never even really had a serious boyfriend before. Why would she have sex with me while I was so noticeably drunk?

I could see tears start to well up in her eyes but she held them back. Even though I wasn't sure of the emotions going through me or how I felt about her at this second, I had to admire her guts to come forward and tell me this. I thought back to the conversation with my parents the other day when I finally told them what was going on with me. My Mom had told me to think with my head and to try not to react badly when I did find the girl. She reminded me that I had no clue what was going on with the girl at the time and that she might be just as traumatized as I was over the situation. I guess I was about to find out and I forced myself to just stay calm and listen to Bella.

Bella looked over my head instead of meeting my eyes but I could see the depth of emotion in them.

"You know I've been in love with you for a while now and believe me when I say that I hadn't planned on actually having sex with you that night. I just wanted to dress up and see if you would actually see me as someone other than Alice's best friend. Maybe seduce you into kissing me. I just wanted to connect with you somehow. You were leaving for Seattle soon. I had no idea when or if I'd see you again after that. You may have thought my feelings were a big joke when you overheard me talking with Alice that day but they haven't changed. If anything, they've grown stronger."

She paused and took a deep shaky breath.

"I know you have probably figured out that I was a virgin and I don't want you to feel bad about that. Even though I had no experience I knew that I never wanted anyone but you to be my first, Edward. I don't expect anything from you. I know you don't feel the same way as I do."

She stopped, took a breath and held it for a moment. She walked over to the couch and sat down next to me, her head bent. Taking another breath she practically whispered, "We didn't use protection."

I was at a loss for words. I already knew that I was an idiot and hadn't used any protection with her. The depth of my stupidity hit me as I looked down at her bent head. I reached out my hand to touch her but let it drop before I made contact. I wasn't sure if she would want me to.

As she had confessed to me, I had felt an inner calmness come over me that I didn't think I even possessed.

"Why didn't you come to me sooner?"

Her head came up and she raised her eyes to meet mine. They were bright with unshed tears as she said quietly, "I thought you'd hate me. I don't think I could have handled that."

"Bella, I've never hated you although I may have acted like it, I was jealous of you."

"Jealous? Why were you jealous of me?"

"Because of Alice and of your relationship with her. She's my sister and when you two met and became friends so young, I didn't want to have to share her. I felt I was losing her to you. I loved her the moment she was born even though I was so young and those feelings only intensified as we grew up. When she met you, she didn't seem to really need me anymore. I felt left out."

"But you had Jaz and Em! You guys are really close."

"Yes, but not in the same way that Alice and I were as children, it's hard to explain."

"I'm sorry, Edward."

"Bella, you have nothing to be sorry about. I'm glad Alice has you as a friend. I was just a little shit towards you all these years. It's me that should be apologizing, not you. And especially for my most recent behaviour and speaking of which, are you really okay? I didn't hurt you or anything did I?"

"I'm fine. That way."

"That way? What do you mean?"

"I mean physically I'm okay. I just don't know if anything else happened." She was still not looking at me.

I finally reached over and lifted her chin up so her eyes met mine. "You mean like if you're pregnant or not?"

Her eyes filled with more tears that started to spill over and down her cheeks. She nodded silently. I moved closer to her on the couch and gently put my arm around her shoulders. She leaned towards me and her head fell onto my shoulder. It was weird how natural she felt there and how my body seemed to recognize that fact and shaped itself around her.

"I assume that Alice and Rose know everything?"

"Please don't get mad at them. They've only done what I asked by staying quiet about what happened. They've been trying to get me to talk to you. It's been really hard on Alice."

"I'm not really mad at anyone but myself Bella. I shouldn't have drunk so much that I wasn't aware of my actions. I'm the irresponsible one here. I've had a couple of weeks now to beat myself up over my stupidity and totally accept responsibility for what I did with you. I guess we should find out if you are pregnant or not though. You were sick a couple of times tonight."

She turned her face more solidly into my shoulder, her body turning more into mine. "I don't know if that was because of that or nerves."

I tightened my arm around her, holding her more closely. "Do you want to go to my father and have tests done? Or do one of those home test thingies?"

"I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable seeing your Dad. Maybe we could go to one of those clinics or something in Port Angeles? Where no one knows us?"

I thought about it for a minute and agreed. It made sense. If the results were negative, then we wouldn't have rumours and conjecture running rampant through Forks especially since Bella had to go back to school in a few days. If they were positive, well we'd just have to figure it out then.

"We could tomorrow morning if you like?" I felt her nod against my chest. I wasn't sure how long we just sat there like that, silently holding onto each other.

I wasn't sure how I felt about her now. I could admit to myself that I cared about her since she was practically a part of our family but I'd always just seen her as joined at the hip with my sister. I knew how she thought she felt a couple of years ago and she was 15, I'd thought it was just a school girl crush that she would get over. I now knew differently. She hadn't "gotten over" anything. Her crush on me had made her do something that I hoped she didn't regret in the future.

If she did turn out to be pregnant, I knew that I could handle it financially and help her. My inheritance for college was more than enough to pay for what I had to in Seattle and I knew my parents would help out. I knew they were disappointed in my actions but I also knew that they would be there for me no matter what. And because it was Bella, they would move through the fires of hell to help her. They loved her.

If I wanted to be truthful with myself, I would have to admit that I didn't want to lose what was happening between us. I felt something I'd never felt before when I touched Bella. Whatever the outcome of tomorrow, I was pretty sure I wanted to try and pursue whatever this was. It wasn't going to be easy with me in a different city but anything worth having was definitely worth working at.

I wasn't sure how long we just sat there on the couch with her in my arms but she had been breathing pretty slow and steady for about a half an hour when I distinctly heard the rattle of the front door knob. I gently shook her awake to let her know that I thought her Dad was home and she sleepily sat up and looked around a bit disoriented. She looked at me with a soft smile and sleep filled eyes and I could swear my heart melted. I was starting to sound like a girl, I snickered to myself.

Charlie came around the corner of the living room and looked at us quizzically. I didn't doubt he was surprised that I was here. He was probably expecting Alice to be here instead as I had sometimes lent her my car since she'd gotten her licence to drive Bella home to get something she'd forgotten. I got up and helped Bella off of the couch. I said good night to Charlie and Bella walked me to the door. I felt better about leaving now that Charlie was there. We made arrangements for me to pick her up at 10am so we could head to Port Angeles and find a clinic. I had half of the mystery solved and only had to wait for the results of the second half of it.

I pulled in behind the moving van in the driveway and sat there looking at it. Whatever the results of the test tomorrow, I was unfortunately going to have to go to Seattle in a few days. I only hoped that Bella was going to be okay with whatever happened next.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

So? LOL ..

Reviews are like fine wine and I love wine :-)

2569 words

Posted October 20, 2009


	7. Chapter 7

**he original characters belong to .. the twisted ideas of what I make the characters do is all mine *evil laugh***

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Just a short chapter to give a bit of a scoop on what Alice and Rose were thinking when Bella wouldn't talk to Edward about what had happened. **

**_________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 7**

**Rosalie's POV**

After Bella had left to go home, Alice and I decided to watch one more movie before calling it a night. I was at the house so often these days, I actually had my own room here.

As the movie played, I thought about all that had happened in the last couple of weeks since the fateful party. I still couldn't believe that Bella had actually slept with Edward that night and then wouldn't tell him when it was so obvious that he'd been so drunk on the tequila shots Emmett had talked him into doing that he didn't recognize her.

I knew we couldn't pressure her to talk to Edward even if we didn't agree with what she was doing. And her plan to do it again this weekend? I could understand perfectly why she felt the necessity to do it and I would stand behind her no matter what her decision was. I was just hoping that by the time we got to the party, she'd change her mind. I wasn't going to get all up in her face about it. She was old enough to decide who she wanted to be with but I sure wished Edward would get his head out of his ass and figure out it was Bella that had been with him that night. There were plenty enough clues that it wasn't that hard to figure out. I was equally surprised that Em and Jaz hadn't figured it out either.

I knew that Bella hadn't talked to anyone but Alice and I about what happened and we were supporting her as much as we could. We talked until we were blue that she must let him in on whether or not she could be pregnant. What a mess that would be! Edward about to go off to school and Bella with one more year of high school to get through but on the other hand, it had been obvious for a couple of years to everyone but Edward that Bella loved him. We also knew that he had feelings for her; he just refused to see or admit to them and acted like an ass towards her whenever he could. I felt sorry for Bella sometimes to have to put up with his crap feeling the way she did about him.

Men just suck sometimes.

On the other hand, I knew that if there were consequences from what Bella and Edward did that night, Edward would man up and take responsibility for his part in it. My aunt and uncle had raised him that way. I knew that they were disappointed with him for his actions that night but they were happy that he was trying to find the girl and make sure she was alright. I just wish I could tell them what I knew but there was one thing I would never do, I'd never ever break a confidence. The three of us had always been there for each other since I moved to Forks when I was 13. I'd been such a bitch towards everyone that I was amazed that they had allowed me into their friendship circle as easily as they did.

I hadn't wanted to move to this small town in the state of Washington. I had my friends in Chicago and I resented my parents for tearing me away from them. Alice and Bella became my lifeline. They always made sure I didn't do anything too stupid.

I just hoped that between Alice and I, we could stop Bella from doing something stupid over the weekend or at least get her to actually talk to Edward before he leaves for Seattle.

The movie ended and I realized I hadn't even seen any of it. I'd been too much wrapped up in my own thoughts. I said good night to Alice and headed up to my room. As I walked in the room, my phone on my night table alerted me to a text message. I actually had two; one from Bella and one from Emmett. The message from Bella just said "I talked to Edward." I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the gods that she had done it. Emmett's message was just letting me know he was home and saying good night. I sent a quick text back to both of them and crawled into bed. Tomorrow had just got a lot more interesting.

__________________________________________________________________________

**Alice's POV**

I didn't know what I was going to do. I was Bella's best friend and owed her my loyalty but I was Edward's sister and had loyalty to him too. I was so torn on what to do. I couldn't talk to Jasper about it and he had become my sounding board for any decision I had to make lately. He was my rock and I missed being able to rely on his advice when it came to tough decisions. Even before we had started seeing each other, we used to talk a lot and he would always have such good advice.

After Bella had taken off to walk home, Rose and I watched one more movie but I knew neither of us could say what it was about. We were both wrapped up in our own thoughts centred on Bella and how we could convince her to talk to Edward before he left for Seattle. It was coming down to the wire and she was being so damn stubborn. And her new stupid idea for the weekend! For fuck's sake! Wasn't it enough that it had happened once? And now she wanted to try it again? She could just be honest with my brother. I knew he was going nuts trying to figure out who was with him that night and it really bothered me that I couldn't tell him. Like I said before, I had familial loyalty to Edward but I had loyalty to Bella as well. I was so torn that I was probably just as upset as Bella had been for the last couple of weeks.

I knew Edward had told Mom and Dad by the look on his face the night he'd come out of Dad's office / den but he hadn't wanted to talk about it and I let him be. He knew I was always here for him if he needed me.

At least I had Rose to talk to but she was just as bound by our word to Bella as I was. We had promised that we wouldn't tell a soul since it was the only way she would tell us why she was so upset that night.

After Rose had gone to bed, I stayed up for a little while longer hoping to hear from Jasper when he got home. I even contemplated getting him to swing over and grab me. I really needed to be with him right now. I wandered up to my room and realized my cell phone had been sitting on my dresser all evening. I quickly grabbed it to check for messages and noticed one from both Jasper and Bella. I looked at Jasper's first. They'd called it a night fairly early and he was already at home. I replied asking if he wanted to come by and get me. I knew he would and was proven right when he replied with "OMW". I smiled to myself. I loved him so much. Next I checked the one from Bella and almost dropped my phone when I read it. She had actually done it! She'd talked to Edward tonight! I was so happy it was out in the open but I was worried how Edward had taken it.

I looked out my window and noticed that Edward's car was parked behind the moving van and it looked like he was still sitting in it. I ran downstairs and out of the house to his car. He saw me coming and was standing in the driveway by the time I reached him. Grabbing me as I leapt at him, we hugged each other tightly and I just kept saying "I'm sorry" over and over.

"Alice, it's okay. I know why you didn't say anything. It's okay."

"No it's not! I should have told you but she begged me not too."

"It's okay. It's done now." He gave me another little squeeze as Jasper's car pulled into the driveway and then he let me go.

I was amazed at how calm Edward was. Jasper joined us and looked at him sort of funny-like. It wasn't usual for Edward to take things calmly. He had quite the temper sometimes and I had expected him to blow a gasket when Bella finally did tell him what had gone on that night. Calm Edward was kind of scary. He greeted Jasper and then excused himself to go into the house.

Jasper and I looked at each other for a moment and shrugged. I just hoped everything went back to normal now that I could tell Jaz what had been happening and I could go back to enjoying our talks.

We headed out to sit at the lake for a while and talked until about 3am. He dropped me home and I went up to bed. I would talk to Bella tomorrow and find out what happened tonight. I was so happy that life might actually go back to normal I thought as I fell asleep.

____________________________________________________________________________________

1663 words

Posted October 20, 2009


	8. Chapter 8

**The original characters belong to S. Meyer ..I can only take credit for the different plot line and new characters.**

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Thanksto all those that have reviewed. Please keep it up :-) Check the end notes for an important message to all those that are reading this story!  
**

**__________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Bella's POV**

After Edward left, I went up stairs to my room wishing Charlie a good night as I left the living room. I knew he was puzzled at why I was home tonight and why Edward had been here but I definitely didn't want to get into it with him. After the trip to Port Angeles, I would have to make a decision on when and what to say to him. I was just glad that Charlie wasn't one to pry. If I had a problem that I couldn't deal with, I knew that I could go to him but otherwise he was a pretty easy going parent.

I lay in bed wishing that Edward was there with me. I still wasn't feeling 100% and being in his arms earlier gave me more comfort than I had a right to deserve after my actions. I was just relieved that he hadn't exploded with that infamous temper of his.

Tomorrow we'd go to Port Angeles and I would get tested to see if I was pregnant. I was scared shitless to tell you the truth but I was glad that Edward was actually willing to go with me. I was still amazed by him even after everything that had happened.

I knew that Rose and Alice would be relieved when they got the text from me tonight. I was well aware of how they felt about me telling Edward what was going on. I was sorry that they had been caught in the middle of me and Edward but I was so grateful that they'd had my back in the mess I created. I took 100% responsibility for what I did. I knew what I'd been doing more than Edward had.

I put my I-pod on and tried to relax to the music. I must have relaxed enough to fall asleep because the next thing I knew it was morning and Charlie as tapping on my door to see if I was awake.

"Yeah, Dad. I'm awake."2

"Bells, I have to go to the office again. I'll see you around dinner sometime. I'll call if I can't make it home."

"Okay, Dad. Love you."

"Love you too, Bells."

I rolled over, looked at my clock and groaned. It was only 7am. _Thanks Dad. _I grumbled to myself. I tried to relax and go back to sleep but my thoughts turned to what I was doing today. Edward would pick me up in 3 hours so we could head to Port Angeles. At 8am I gave up, got up and had a shower. Since we'd probably be gone for a while, I decided to do up some sandwiches to take with us and kill some time.

As 9am came and went, I started to get really nervous. Was Edward going to show up? What would I do if he didn't? Timed seemed to actually slow down at this point and I sat on the couch in the living room staring at the clock, getting more and more apprehensive.

I almost jumped out of my skin when the doorbell rang a little before 10. I got up and slowly walked to the door. I knew it was Edward but I was sort of scared to open the door. What if he had changed his mind since last night? What if he really did hate me? My hand was shaking as I turned the doorknob, almost to the point that I couldn't turn it. I finally got it to open and closing my eyes, I slowly opened the door.

"Bella, are you alright?" I immediately relaxed as soon as I heard his voice full of concern.

I opened my eyes to look into his brilliant emerald green ones. No matter what happens now, no one will be able to take away the moments I've had with this beautiful man and I will never ever forget them. I closed my eyes trying to keep back the tears that were threatening to start. I was so emotional lately that tears would fall for no apparent reason.

I felt Edward's hands grip my shoulders gently and draw me towards his body. Almost instinctually my hands went around his waist and gripped his back, my face nestling into his shoulder. I felt his hands move to caress my back and I shivered at the sensations running through my body.

"What's wrong? Please tell me." He said in a low soothing voice.

As his breath brushed along my ear, I shivered again and moved closer to him. I could feel the muscles ripple in his chest as he moved his hands up and down my back. I turned my nose into the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent of mint and something else I couldn't define but was uniquely Edward. I never wanted to forget it no matter what happened from now on. I took in a deep shaky breath.

"I'm okay. I just got scared for a few minutes. I wasn't sure if you were really going to come or not. I wasn't sure how you would feel this morning about everything. I was afraid that you would hate me." I knew I sounded pretty pathetic and even whiny but I couldn't help it. I still couldn't believe that Edwards wasn't sorely pissed off at me over my behaviour and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I wasn't sure how long we stood in the doorway with him just holding me but eventually my body stopped shaking. He gave me a little squeeze before drawing away from me to look into my face.

"Okay now? Let's get this cleared up. I am not mad at you. I do not hate you. I am not 100% sure exactly what I am feeling about everything right now but hate and anger are not in the mix. Okay. You got it now?"

He'd woven his hands up through my hair and tugged until our eyes met. He made a point of keeping eye contact with me while he spoke and I couldn't help but believe he meant what he said but a small part of me couldn't really believe it completely. There was no way he couldn't be at least a little angry at me over what I had done that night and over the possibility that I might be pregnant because of it. He had his life planned out with going to university and possibly a career in music or medicine. A baby would certainly change those plans somehow. I wasn't even really concerned about how it would affect me since I had no major plans after high school much to the chagrin of both my parents.

I nodded slowly, letting him know I heard what he said to me and looked away as soon as he let go of me. I turned away to grab my coat and bag, following him out to his car after locking up the house. I'd already left a note letting my Dad know I was going over to the Cullen's house knowing that he wouldn't check. He liked the Cullens and knew I was always safe with them

Edward drove fast but I always felt safe with him behind the wheel. I relaxed against the seat as much as I could given my anxiety about where we were heading. Every once in a while, I could feel Edward looking over at me and once we hit the highway, he moved his hand over to grasp mine with a reassuring grip.

We got into Port Angeles at around 11am and headed to the clinic that Edward had found online. I filled out the necessary paperwork and we sat in the waiting room until my name was called. Edward had requested that he go in with me if it was alright with me and I told the receptionist that I definitely wanted him to. I was so scared I was literally quaking. I knew that Edward could feel my apprehension; he kept looking at me with concern.

Eventually my name was called and I froze. Edward had to help me up and into the room. We only had to wait a few minutes before the door opened and the Doctor entered. He greeted me and looked at Edward quizzically.

"Er. . we don't usually have anyone in here but the patient for the exam."

I'd been looking down at the floor but my head flew up as I heard the Doctor speak.

"He stays!" I said a little frantically. Edward put his hand on the back of my neck and squeezed reassuringly.

"I'm not going anywhere Bella. It's okay."

I hesitantly explained to the Doctor that I was there to get a pregnancy test and answered all the questions he asked. I could feel the heat in my face grow exponentially as I spoke. I found myself so embarrassed to be here in this predicament. Edward just kept gently caressing my back and then moved his hand down to squeeze my hand and smile encouraging at me.

**Edward's POV**

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I got to Bella's house but it certainly wasn't a scared girl answering the door. I'd assumed that she knew me well enough to realize that I wasn't going to go back on my word to her and just not show up. On the other hand, I guess if I was a 17 year old girl on the verge of being tested for pregnancy, I'd probably be freaking out a little too.

All I could think to do when I saw her face was to draw her into my arms. The feel of her there was almost too much for me to begin to process. What was it about her that had this effect on me? How could I have not seen this before? How could I have been so blind where she was concerned? I shook my head and leaned back to look at her face to reassure her.

She listened to my words but I couldn't be 100% sure that she believed me. I would definitely have to work on the trust issue between us. I knew it was my fault that she had doubts that she could trust what I said and I would just have to prove it to her with my actions.

We drove to Port Angeles in relative silence and I didn't attempt to engage her in any conversation. I took her hand in mine once we hit the highway in what I hoped was a comforting grasp.

We headed straight to the clinic that I had found online and I could tell she was getting more and more nervous as we approached our destination. She was literally shaking by the time we pulled into the parking lot and I was at a loss on how to help her. I softly suggested that I go in with her and I heard her tell the receptionist that I would definitely be going in and was weirdly pleased that she wanted me there. If she had said no, I wasn't going to push it but I was happy that she had agreed. My feelings for Bella were much more complicated than I realized before.

We waited until her name was called and she practically jumped out of her skin. She didn't move at first but I gripped her hand tightly and helped her out of her seat. I put my arm around her shoulders, steering her gently towards the room that was indicated we should enter. It wasn't long before the Doctor entered the room and I could feel Bella's nervousness increase even further.

I could tell by the look on his face that he was about to comment on my presence. I opened my mouth to stall what he was about to say but he beat me to it. Bella's response was instantaneous. "He stays!"

I strange warm feeling went through me at her words. I couldn't help myself when I smirked at the Doctor and I reached my hand over to the back of her neck and squeezed gently. I wasn't about to go anywhere unless she told me to leave. I felt her lean back into my hand and take a deep breath.

The Doctor asked her several questions and made notes in the file he held. He then gave her a sheet of paper to take to the lab to get a blood test done. He let her know that it was more accurate than a urine test for pregnancy and I could see her just nod silently, her eyes never leaving the floor in front of her as she blushed a bright red. I moved my hand down her back in a caressing movement and felt her take another shaky breath. I moved my hand down to hers and squeezed it, smiling at her in what I hoped was a comforting way.

Bella seemed to be speechless by the time the Doctor had finished asking his questions and silently took the lab test request from him. He turned to me and gave me directions to the lab that the clinic used, warning me that the results were probably not going to be ready for today depending on how busy the lab was. I already knew it could be a possibility but I realized that I should have probably told Bella when I felt her stiffen beside me and realized her stress level had just risen.

I held her hand as we left the clinic and headed to the lab just down the block. Bella started to shake again as we approached the door and I looked down at her in concern.

"What's wrong?"

She said something under her breath that I couldn't quite make out but as I opened the door to the clinic I realized what the problem was. I vaguely remembered Alice saying something a couple of years ago about Bella passing out when her Dad made her go and get a flu shot. Needles. Bella had a problem with needles.

I went with her up to the reception desk and watched as she handed over the paperwork. I piped in that she might pass out during the test and earned an annoyed look from Bella. Apparently she wasn't happy that I knew about her little foible. The receptionist made a note on the paperwork for the nurse and told us to have a seat. I knew I wouldn't be able to go into the room this time with her so I ended up putting my arm around her shoulders and drew her head down to mine. She sighed as she turned her nose into my neck and shuddered.

"You're going to be fine Bella. I'll be right here waiting for you."

I could feel her nod against me and sighed. I knew this next step was not going to be easy for her.

The nurse called her name within a few minutes of us being seated and I felt her body go completely stiff. I helped her up and on impulse, I kissed her forehead. She looked up at me in surprise but a small smile came over her lips and her eyes looked into mine.

I watched as she followed the nurse out of the waiting area, hoping she was going to be okay.

**Bella's POV**

I seemed to be in a state of emotion that removed me from my body. I knew Edward was there and thanked the gods that he was. I knew for a fact that I wouldn't be able to do this by myself. I sort of listened to what the Doctor said but couldn't seem to absorb it all.

He gave me the paperwork for the lab and that's when I realized what going there entailed. Yeah, it's stupid but when it comes to needles I try to block it out of my mind as much as possible. I really, really hate needles. I could feel Edward's presence and vaguely hear his words of reassurance but when I was sort of annoyed when he told the receptionist that I might pass out during the process. I wasn't even aware that he knew that about me but I could probably blame Alice for that.

We sat in the waiting room until the nurse came to get me. I was pleasantly surprised when I felt Edward's arm circle my shoulders and draw me towards his shoulder. I turned my nose into his neck and inhaled deeply of his scent. It soothed me a little and I shuddered at the intense feeling of emotion that always went through me when I was near him. I'm pretty sure he thought my reaction was about something else and I wasn't going to tell him differently. I didn't have a clue where he was emotionally regarding me and even though he knew how I felt, I didn't want to expose myself all the time around him.

The nurse came to the doorway and called my name and I froze. I felt Edward help me up and tell me that he would be there waiting for me. The next thing I knew, I felt his lips against my forehead and I looked up at him in surprise. I couldn't read the look in his eyes as mine met his. The nurse called my name again, sounding a little impatient and I turned to follower her out in a bit of a daze.

She made me lie down and look away while she drew the blood. I went to a happy place in my mind, the moment just a few moments ago when I felt Edward's lips on my forehead. The nurse was very good at her job and it was over quicker than I expected. She helped me up and out to the waiting room where Edward quickly got up and was at my side.

The nurse informed us that we would have the results by tomorrow as the lab was a little backed up right now. I took a deep breath and looked up at Edward. He gave me a small smile and thanked her for taking care of me. As we turned to leave, he put his arm around my shoulders again and we headed out to the car.

As he drove, I realized that we weren't heading out of town but towards a little Italian restaurant that I'd had dinner at with his family before. I looked over at him quizzically.

"You need to eat something Bella."

"But I brought sandwiches .. " I started to say.

"Save them for later, I'm taking you out. It's been a stressful day for you."

I wasn't positive that my stomach could handle anything but I was willing to give it a try if it extended the amount of time I could be in his company. I managed to eat something light with Edward watching, satisfied to see me eat something. We headed home after eating and I started to get nervous as we approached his house. I told him that I might as well go there since I'd already told my Dad that's where he could find me.

Thankfully Alice was home when I got there who happily greeted me with a hug when I got out of the car. I gave her a little squeezed her back while putting my head on her shoulder. She drew me into the house and up to her room. As we walked up the stairs, I turned back to look at Edward and saw he was watching us with a strange expression on his face. When he noticed me looking at him, he gave me a smile and a little nod.

I smiled back and turned back to his sister who apparently was well aware of what we had gone to Port Angeles for today. For once, I was grateful at the closeness between brother and sister.

I called the house, checked the messages and heard that my Dad was going to be working late again. I left a message to say I was going to be staying the night with Alice. I knew that she and Jasper were going to the party tonight but if I wasn't up to it, I was always allowed to hang out in her room. I was nervous about the phone call we would be getting tomorrow and I really didn't want to be at home alone tonight.

As the time for the party approached, I made the decision to just stay and watch sappy movies in her bedroom. Alice had been gone for about an hour when I heard a knock on the door. Puzzled, I got up to answer it and opened it to find Edward in the hallway. Surprised was not quite the word that described how I felt.

"I thought you were going to the party tonight?"

He looked away for a moment as if trying to figure out what to say in response.

"I was going to but my reason for going has changed slightly."

I looked at him curiously but he just shrugged and looked away.

"Uhm, Alice said that you were staying here tonight and I wondered if you'd be interested in watching a movie with me downstairs."

I looked away for a moment and then nodded my head shyly. I wasn't sure why he was doing this but I certainly wasn't going to turn down any opportunity to spend more time with him. We headed down to the family room and ended up watching movies until Alice, Jasper, Rose and Emmett showed up. We hung around talking for a while after that then we all headed up to bed. I was a little anxious as I fell asleep wondering when the phone would ring tomorrow and what the results of it were going to be.

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Okay Readers .. you get to make a decision here .. should the results of the pregnancy test be positive or negative? Review and let me know! Or you can vote at the poll on my profile :-)  
**

3759 words

Posted October 26, 2009


	9. Chapter 9

**The original characters belong to .. the new characters and plotline are all mine.**

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Thanks everyone that reviewed Chapter 8 and voted on the poll. The response was overwhelming for a negative result so here we go … **

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 9**

**Edward's POV**

It had been really nice to spend some time with Bella without the others around, just hanging out watching some movies. I knew she was quite nervous about what was going to happen tomorrow and I'd hoped that by spending some time with her she would understand I was there for her.

I wasn't sure how I felt about what was going to happen tomorrow. I knew that by spending this time with Bella the last couple of days, I was starting to see her in a very different light. She was becoming more than just Alice's best friend to me.

When Alice took Bella upstairs, I wandered down to my piano and started to play. Before long I realized I was playing a melody that had been running through my head for a while now. I kept playing until I realized that it was getting quite late. I decided I'd better head up to bed if I wanted to be up at a reasonable hour. The lab had both mine and Bella's cell phone numbers so either one could get the call but I assumed they would try to contact Bella first and I wanted to be with Bella when they did.

I knew she was scared today but I had no clue on where her head was if the results were positive. I was more worried about her Dad's reaction to the news if it happened. I finally fell asleep sometime during the night, still thinking about Bella.

It was 8am when the alarm on my bedside table finally roused me from the sleep I had finally achieved at 3am in the morning. My eyes felt gravelly as I forced them open and swiped at the noise. I laid there for a few minutes listening to the quiet of our wing of the house. The sun was streaming in through the spaces in the dark curtains that hung over my windows. I could see the dust particles dancing in the air.

I was surprised that Bella wasn't already up and about with Alice since neither of them were late sleepers. The pixie apparently had too much energy to keep her down for long. It didn't take long for me to start hearing the stirrings of the two girls having showers and getting ready for the day. My mind started to venture down the road of envisioning Bella in the shower; standing under the hot water that steamed up the room and using the strawberry scented body wash that Alice insisted she keep at the house. My morning erection became unbelievably harder at the thought of her soaping up her body. I closed my eyes and grabbed my cock in my hand slowly moving it up and down and I saw in my mind the water caressing her body; beads of it slowly travelling down her breasts and down her stomach. I groaned. I imagined my hands following the course of the water as I slowly caressed her skin. Moving my hands over her breasts to caress her nipples, then further down to moist opening. Brushing lightly over her clit and watching her body react to my touch. My breath hitched and I moved my hand faster on myself. I could almost taste her as I saw myself kissing and biting her nipples and moving slowly down to meet my hand that was caressing her. My dick started to twitch at the sensations that coursed through me. I'd never had such vivid visions in my life and my hips started to buck in response. I moved my hand faster as I felt the familiar tightening in my body, a few more strokes and I cried out as I came. I lay back against my pillow, waiting for my heartbeat to slow and sighed. Twenty minutes later, I decided it was time to get up and shower and go find Bella. I wasn't sure when the lab in Port Angeles opened but it would be a few hours before the clinic got her results.

I wandered down to the kitchen to forage for food and found the five of them already seated around the kitchen table apparently arguing who was going to cook breakfast. I laughed as I walked into the room meeting Bella's eyes as she turned to look at me in surprise. I headed to the fridge to start dragging out ingredients for pancakes, bacon and eggs. I knew Emmett would eat like an army so the more food made the better. I was surprised when Bella got up and started to help me.

"You don't have to help, you know."

She gave me a small, shy smile. "I really need something to do if you don't mind. This waiting is going to drive me crazy."

I reached out to squeeze her hand reassuringly and whispered to her, "it'll be okay, and you know, no matter what happens I will be here."

She looked up at me with wide eyes and I could see from the look in them she didn't completely believe me. I hoped that she could learn to trust me; to know that I wouldn't intentionally hurt her anymore like I'd done in the past but I had a feeling that I had a very long road ahead of me to earn that trust. I'd screwed up so bad.

We ate breakfast with everyone and she disappeared upstairs after I let her know I'd be in the family room if she needed me.

A few hours later, I heard a cell phone ringing in the kitchen. Realizing that there was no one around downstairs I headed into the other room and saw that it was Bella's phone. I looked at the call display and realized the number was from Port Angeles. It was the lab calling. I answered it and asked them to hold on then headed upstairs to Alice's room to get Bella.

______________________________________________________________

**Bella's POV**

I didn't want to wake up and face the day. I didn't want to get that phone call. I didn't want to have my hopes dashed. I didn't want to never see Edward again if the results were negative. He would have absolutely no reason to be near me, no reason to ever talk to me again. He would be gone off to Seattle and never have to think of me again other than as Alice's friend.

I lay there for a while thinking about Edward and the change in his attitude towards me. I wasn't sure if I could trust his actions considering how he'd treated me in the past. I know he said he was jealous of me and I could kind of see his side of it but that didn't erase the hurt he had cause over the years.

My emotions were all over the place right now. I knew how I felt about him but how did he really feel about me. Was he just putting up a front to get through this crisis and then he'd go back to being an ass? Rose let me know that she thought Edward had had feelings for me for quite a while and had been ignoring them but I wasn't sure that she wasn't just reading something out of nothing.

I could hear Alice start to move around in the room, well aware that today was going to be very hard on me. Both she and Rose knew where Edward and I had gone yesterday, I wasn't sure what he had told Emmett and Jasper but I wasn't going to keep anything from my two best friends. I could tell she was trying to be quiet.

"I'm awake Alice."

"Oh Bella! I didn't wake you did I? I wanted to let you sleep. I know today is going to be a rough one."

"It's okay Alice. I didn't really sleep that much anyway."

We showered, got dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen to see what was up for breakfast. Rose, Emmett and Jasper were already there arguing about who was going to be cook this morning. I listened with amusement as Alice jumped into the conversation. I was so intent on watching them argue that I didn't hear Edward walk in behind me until I heard his laugh.

He shook his head and headed to the fridge and started to grab things to make the meal and I decided to get up and help him, telling him that I needed something to do when he told me that I didn't have to.

He told me again that he would be there no matter what happened but I still was unsure of him.

We all ate and I decided to head upstairs away from everyone. I felt all of their eyes follow me as I left the room. I just wasn't up to being the centre of attention when I knew that they all knew now what I was waiting for.

I lay down on Alice's spare bed and just stared at the ceiling. I must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing I knew Edward was shaking me awake. I groggily opened my eyes, disoriented for a few minutes. Then I saw what he had in his hand. My cell phone.

I felt my heart start to beat frantically. My breath caught in my throat and I looked at Edward with wide eyes. He reached his hand out to grasp my hand and squeezed.

"It's the clinic Bella."

I felt tears start to form in my eyes and I reached out a shaky hand to take my phone from him.

"Hello?"

"_Is this Bella Swan?" _ I could barely hear her over my pounding heartbeat.

"Yes." I barely got out the word.

"_Your lab results are in."_

"Okay." I said at barely a whisper.

"_It was negative. You are not pregnant."_

I couldn't speak. I just stared at Edward.

"_Miss? Are you there? Did you hear me?"_

"Yes. I heard. Thank you." I managed to get out those 5 words before I closed my phone and burst into tears. I felt like I'd lost something important. Like something was missing now. I fell back onto the bed and curled into a small ball, gripping my knees to me.

"Bella! Bella!" I could hear Edward calling my name from far away. I felt his hands on my, trying to draw me into his arms.

"It's okay Bella. I'm here. We'll deal with it. Please don't cry." He seemed at a loss to what to do. I couldn't stop crying.

I heard Rose's voice from away.

I heard Edward's speaking to her and then to me but I couldn't respond.

"Edward, get out of my way." Rose growled at him.

I felt her lie down beside me on the bed and put her arms around me. She didn't say a word but just held me. I heard the door open and close and realized that I could no longer feel Edward's presence in the room. A few minutes later, I felt Alice lie down on my other side and they both just held me as I sobbed. I couldn't catch my breath. I couldn't stop my heart from pounding. This must be what it felt like when someone died. It felt like my heart had been literally ripped out of my chest, lying broken and in pieces on the floor.

I didn't know how much time passed but eventually I was spent. I had no more tears. I didn't know what to do now. I knew that Edward would be gone in two days. I'd never see him again now. He didn't have any reason at all to have anything to do with me.

"Bella? Can you talk now?" I heard Rose's voice whisper in my ear. It was like she was afraid to speak in a normal voice in case I fell apart again.

I shook my head. I wasn't ready to put into words what I was feeling. The devastation. The grief. I had to admit to myself that over the past few days I had been daydreaming of having his child and that dream was now gone. I had nothing left.

"Bella, are you pregnant?" she whispered.

I shook my head very faintly, barely moving it. She sighed and wrapped her arms tighter around me. "I'm sorry Bella."

I felt Alice's arms tighten around me as well although she spoke not a word. I opened my eyes to find her looking directly into mine. Hers were filled with unshed tears.

She lay there for a moment and then whispered "Do you want me to tell Edward?"

My eyes opened wide and I nodded my head, realizing he needed to know the news. There was no reason for me to see him anymore.

**Edward's POV**

I didn't know what to do. Bella literally collapsed from whatever the lady on the phone told her. I felt helpless. I tried to gather her into my arms but she was immobile. The next thing I knew, Rose was pushing me away from Bella and telling me to get out of the way. I watched as she climbed into the bed beside Bella and wrapped her arms around her. She motioned for me to leave and since I was at a loss, I did. Alice was coming down the hall towards me as I stepped out and leaned against the wall by the door.

"What's wrong Edward? What happened?"

I shook my head at her, "I don't know. The clinic called but I don't know what they said. Bella just collapsed. She won't talk. She just keeps crying."

"Oh no! I'll go right in!"

"Rose is in there already. She pretty much kicked me out of there."

I watched as Alice entered the room and shut the door. What should I do now? Stand here and wait? Go to my room? Downstairs? This was the second time within a few weeks that I'd felt so totally helpless. I'd felt in control in any situation for most of my life.

I decided to just stand outside Alice's door and wait for someone to clue me in on what had happened with Bella. It felt like hours by the time that the door opened and Alice popped out.

I looked at her expectantly, hoping she was coming out to tell me what the hell was going on in there.

"How is she?"

Alice shook her head, "not good."

"What did they say? Should she see a Doctor right away? Maybe Dad can refer us to someone?" I knew I was babbling but I was assuming that the results were positive by her reaction to the phone call.

"Edward!"

I didn't hear her, my mind already gone on to what needed to be done for Bella and a baby.

"Dad and Mom should be home soon. We can get Dad to prescribe anything she needs before she sees someone else. I'll take care of it."

"Edward!" she pretty much yelled in my face

"WHAT?!?" I yelled back.

She gripped my shoulders in her tiny hands, then moved them up to cup my face, looked me straight in the eye and said. "It was negative. Bella isn't pregnant."

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

2624 words

Posted October 28, 2009


	10. Chapter 10

**The original characters belong to .. the new characters and plotline are all mine.**

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Thanks and hello to all the new followers! **

**Hopefully you all enjoyed Chapter 9 because not many of you had an opinion on it LOL. **

**Glad to see so many are enjoying this story. Don't forget to review and let me know how I'm doing!**

**____________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 10**

**Edward's POV cont.**

At first I didn't think I heard Alice right. I must have just stared at her blankly because the next thing I knew, she was yelling at me again.

"**DID YOU HEAR ME EDWARD! SHE ISN'T PREGNANT!"**

I shook my head. I was dumbfounded. If she wasn't pregnant, then why was Bella acting the way she was? It didn't make any sense to me. This was good news, right? I could admit to myself to being a little sad about the fact because I had started thinking of what it would be like to have a kid with her but Bella seemed utterly devastated.

"But why then …. ???" I was so confused. I didn't understand.

"Why what Edward? What are you trying to say?"

Alice looked at me for a second and she must have read in my eyes what I couldn't seem to find words for in my confusion. She looked exasperated before rolling her eyes. "Why do you fucking think she is upset Edward? If you can't figure that one out on your own, I'm not about to fucking tell you. God I have never met a denser male in my life! I have to go back in the room but she wanted me to let you know."

She gave me a look that probably should have fried me on the spot and went back into her bedroom muttering about stupid men as she went. When she opened the door, I could hear Rose saying comforting words and Bella crying. The sound ripped through me like a knife but she obviously didn't want me in there with her since she had gotten Alice to tell me what the clinic had said. I didn't know what to do to make her feel better so I decided to leave it to Rose and Alice to deal with. Feeling like a total ass and still utterly perplexed, I wandered downstairs to see if Em and Jaz were still around. I figured I might as well give them the news too.

**Bella's POV**

I heard Alice leave and a few minutes later she came back in the room. I assumed that Edward must have been just outside the door for her to be back so quickly. The thought of him now knowing brought on a whole new set of tears from me. I couldn't stop crying. I knew it was ridiculous to be feeling this sense of loss over something that hadn't even existed in the first place but I couldn't seem to help it. At least Rose and Alice seemed to understand how I felt. They just kept telling me it was going to be okay and let me know that they were right there for me.

I didn't know how long we all just lay on the bed in Alice's room but eventually I ran out of tears. Now I was just numb. I didn't feel anything anymore. It was like a switch was turned off in me. The girls talked me into having a shower, saying it would make me feel better but I highly doubted that was going to be possible. I stayed in Alice's room for the remainder of the day. I knew I was being a coward but I couldn't face Edward. I knew he must be relieved that I wasn't pregnant and I just couldn't face him right now. I couldn't face that there was no reason for him to be nice to me anymore. He could go to Seattle and forget I even existed now.

It was much later when I heard a knock on the door and Jasper called out for Alice. She gave me a hug and went to talk with him out in the hall. When she came back in she let Rose and I know that the boys were going out for a couple of hours. Rose just nodded but didn't say anything. I realized then that I could go home without seeing Edward at all. I roused myself out of the bed. Alice and Rose looked at me in surprise but I just murmured that I wanted to go home. I knew they were concerned about me and I loved them for that but I really needed to be by myself now. I needed to wallow or think or whatever alone.

Alice informed me that if I really wanted to go home then she would drive me. I just nodded, letting her do what she wanted. I knew I was upsetting her and that she was worried. I hadn't spoken a word since I'd gotten the phone call. I had nothing to say. They'd asked me a couple of times how I felt but there were no words in my vocabulary to describe it.

Charlie wasn't home when Alice pulled in and she wanted to stay but I emphatically shook my head. She sighed, hugged me one last time and made me promise to call her or Rose if I needed anything.

Once in the house, I went up to my room, changed into my old comfy sweats and lay on my bed, stuffing my I-pod ear buds in along the way. I closed my eyes and tried to let the music take me far away from the reality that was my life right now. I felt so alone. I was in love with a guy that would be leaving in less two days time and I knew I'd never be with him again. This thought brought on a whole new set of tears. I didn't honestly think I had any left but apparently I did.

It was late when I finally heard Charlie come in. I knew he wasn't expecting me to be home so I didn't bother to leave my bedroom. I wasn't up to questions.

I must have fell asleep as some point because when I opened my eyes again, the sun was coming through the crack in my curtains. My cell was beeping indicating a message. I ignored it. I still didn't want to talk to anyone. Glancing at my bedside clock, I saw that it was almost noon. Rolling over and grabbing my comforter, I covered my head and went back to sleep.

A fiercely loud pounding woke me up and I realized it was coming from downstairs. Groggily, I peered at my clock. It was just after 6pm. I'd slept for another 6 hours. I stumbled out of bed and made my way down the stairs, stopping at the door unsure whether I wanted to open it or not.

"BELLA! YOU OPEN THIS GOD DAMN DOOR RIGHT NOW OR WE'ILL BREAK IT DOWN. I AM NOT FUCKING KIDDING HERE!"

I sighed. It was Rose.

"BELLA WE KNOW YOU'RE THERE! GET THIS DOOR OPEN NOW!"

I sighed again. Alice.

Crap! I really just wanted to be left alone to wallow in my misery. Why couldn't they understand that? I loved them both but I just needed this time.

I sighed again and opened the door just as they started banging on it again. I didn't even have the chance to pull the door open all the way before they were both inside and in my face. Before they had a chance to do anything, I turned, walked to the oversized armchair, sat down and drew my knees up to my chest. I just looked at them hoping that they would get the hint that I was not in a very social mood right now. All I really wanted to do was crawl back into bed and pretend that the last couple of weeks never happened. I somehow had my doubts that my two best friends were going to let me do that though. I thought that they could at least give me a day to come to terms with everything but no, not them.

Alice kneeled down in front of me and Rose beside her. She grabbed my hands and squeezed.

"You okay?"

I just sort of nodded then shook my head. I couldn't lie to them. I wasn't okay and they already knew it.

"Bella, you have to talk to Edward. He has no clue what's going on with you. When he came back to the house with Em and Jaz last night he was really upset that you were gone. You almost had him on your door this morning but Rose talked him out of it. When you wouldn't answer our messages and calls we started to get worried."

My eyes widened as I looked up at her and I started to shake my head. "No. No. I can't talk to him. He doesn't have to bother with me anymore Alice. He's in the clear. No baby" The last came out on a sob as I tried to keep control of my emotions.

"Bella, I don't think that's the only reason he's been nice to you. He was really worried. I think you need to give him a chance to tell you how he's feeling about all this. It's not just something you've gone through you know. He was right there with you." Rose said as she reached for my hands too.

All I could do is shake my head. I couldn't talk to him. I couldn't bear to look in his eyes and see nothing. I'd been living in a fantasy world over the last few days with him by my side as we dealt with the possibility of me being pregnant. That fantasy was over. There was no way he'd really want me. He was going to Seattle tomorrow and I know he'd meet someone there. I couldn't compete with the women he'd meet at the University. What could he see in a 17 year old girl compared to them?

"I can't. I just can't" I said in a whisper. "Please just drop it. It hurts so much."

I heard both of them sigh and felt them move me to the couch sitting on either side of me. I could feel the tears start again at their efforts to comfort me. We'd been sitting there for quite a while when I heard the front door open. Charlie poked his head around the corner looking very puzzled. I tried to smile at him but it probably looked like I was more in pain than anything. He looked at Rose and Alice as they stood up from the couch.

"You alright Bells?"

"Yeah Dad. Fine."

I could tell he didn't really believe me but he didn't push it. He looked at Rose and Alice for some sort of clue but they didn't give anything away. I was grateful for that. The last thing I will ever want is for my Dad to know just how fucking pathetic his daughter actually is.

I got up and walked towards the door, hoping that Alice and Rose would get the hint that I wanted them to leave now. They each gave me a last hug and went out the door. I shut the door behind them and turned to go back upstairs to my room. I could feel Charlie's eyes follow me all the way.

**Edward's POV**

Bella wouldn't talk to me. It's been the single most important thought that has gone through my mind since her cell phone rang yesterday. She won't talk to me.

I didn't understand. We'd been getting along fine before that call. She knew I was there for her. Didn't she? I still couldn't understand why she was acting the way she was. Alice called me an idiot and I guess I was but Bella wouldn't talk to me so I had no idea what she was thinking or feeling.

I had been texting her all day and even tried to call her a few times but to no avail. She was refusing to answer. Alice and Rose decided to head over to her house because she wasn't answering them either.

Over the last few days I had started to feel something for Bella other than the fierce physical attraction that had my dick twitching at the mere thought of her. I'd decided to see if she wanted to continue seeing me no matter what the outcome of the pregnancy test was. I had honestly enjoyed getting to know her a little bit and found myself wanting to know more. I was hoping that there was something more.

I was leaving in the morning to go to Seattle. I would have loved to put it off for a couple more days to see if I could get Bella to talk to me but knew my parents would never go for it. I had classes first thing Tuesday morning and couldn't afford a black mark on my academic record fight off the bat.

I heard Alice and Rose come home hours after leaving so I headed downstairs to see if they had gotten her to talk to me.

As soon as I saw Alice's face, I knew. Bella wasn't going to talk to me. I finished the rest of my packing and threw it into the moving truck. I wasn't really sure how I felt about leaving in the morning. I knew I was wishing Bella had been willing to talk about what happened but Alice said to give her some space and that she would eventually be able deal with it.

Em, Jaz, Rose and Alice all hung out with me that night. We just watched movies and talked. I was going to miss all of them a lot. After having gone to bed at a decent hour, I got up and headed to Seattle in the morning. I had texted Bella the night before, letting her know I was thinking about her and to give me a call if she wanted to talk. I included my new landline at the apartment just in case. I wasn't hopeful though.

The apartment was empty when I got there so I assumed that Ben was out with Angela somewhere. Luckily there were a couple of guys hanging out front of the building that were willing to help me bring in the larger items and I spent the rest of the day organizing my stuff in the apartment. I called home to let everyone know I was there in one piece and settled in then I hit the shower before heading to bed. My last thoughts before I drifted off to sleep were of Bella.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

**Don't forget to click on the green link and leave some love.**

**I am still looking for a Beta for the story if anyone might be interested. Just send me a PM or Tweet me at mahika :-)**

2513 words

Posted October 30, 2009


	11. Chapter 11

**The original characters belong to .. the new characters and plotline are all mine.**

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Welcome new readers. I hope you are enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think**

**: - )**

**___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 11**

**Edward's POV**

It had been a week since I'd left for Seattle. I still hadn't heard from Bella and if it hadn't been for Alice and Rose letting me know she was "managing" in their words, I would have turned around and gone back to Forks. I'd started classes which were pretty easy so far, but they were just 1st year classes so didn't really challenge me.

I couldn't keep my mind on anything but Bella. This being patient was wearing on my nerves. How long should I wait? Should I go home this weekend and see if she'll talk to me? Both Alice and Rose kept telling me to give her "time". That she would come around and be willing to talk to me.

After much thought and actually talking to Angela about what happened, I finally clued in on what might be going on through Bella's mind. Angela just happened to be the one there when I totally broke down the night after I arrived. She and Ben came home after going to the movies and found me in the living room listening to some pretty depressing music and almost crying in my beer. Ben went to have a shower and Angela sat next to me and asked me what was wrong. It was like a dam broke when she asked that question. It all spilled out from the time of the party to finding out the results of the pregnancy test.

She looked at me like I was a little dense with the same look on her face that Alice had when she left me to go back into her room. Okay, obviously I was a real idiot when it came to understanding women. I admitted to myself before we got the results that I was beginning to really care about her but I still didn't really believe that she was "in love" with me. I even confessed this to Angela during my verbal diarrhoea. She almost slapped me she was so furious at me. I remember every single word she said to me.

"Don't ever question how a woman feels Edward. It sounds like Bella has felt the same way for 2 years. You even said she'd tried to go out with other boys but never dated for more than one or two dates. That means something. I'm sure there were tons of clues you didn't even see that told you how she felt about you but you had your head too far up your own ass to see anything, besides the fact you were treating her like crap at the same time."

I'd found myself blushing at her tirade. I knew I'd been an ass and at least I knew Bella was aware of how sorry I was about that. I hoped so anyway.

She then proceeded to tell me her take on Bella's reactions. I was lucky she was actually willing to share her thoughts on the matter since my sister and cousin were being as tight lipped as a secret agent on the matter.

Angela figured that Bella was probably thinking that because there was no baby, I'd want nothing to do with her, (which couldn't be farther from the truth, but of course given my past behaviour how could she think otherwise.) .

I wasn't sure what I could do with this theory on the situation but I was glad that at least someone gave me a little clue. I wasn't scheduled to go home until Thanksgiving weekend which had been the plan since I was first accepted into the university. My parents didn't want me to run home every weekend but to set up some kind of schedule at school around my studies. I just wasn't sure that I could stay away from Bella for so long. I felt that the longer I was gone, the further away she moved from me.

**Bella's POV**

I hadn't heard from Edward since the night before he left for Seattle. I knew he had left it in my hands to contact him but my stupid emotions figured that he should have made another effort to call me or something. My subconscious just kept telling me that it knew this would happen when he found out there wasn't going to be a baby. Alice and Rose kept telling me that Edward cared about me but it had been a week and not even an attempt on his part to talk to me.

I could feel myself getting more and more depressed during the week. I barely made it to school and couldn't concentrate on anything while there. Everyone including Jaz and Em were getting worried about me but I couldn't seem to shake the feeling.

I missed Edward. I missed the way he smelled. I missed the way he had held me when I told him that it was me he had been with that night. I missed his crooked smile. I felt like a vital part of me was missing and it was a part that I couldn't live without. It was strange how deep the sense of loss went. Edward have left town on trips out of town in the past and I hadn't missed him this much.

I finally got the guts to pick up the phone and call his cell phone number. It went straight to voice mail and I hung up. Looking over at the clock, I realized he would still be in class. I noticed his class schedule on the fridge at the Cullen's the other day. Now that I had made the attempt to contact him, I started to feel a little better. I'd try later when I figured he was home.

Now that I'd made up my mind to talk to Edward, I felt a sense of purpose. I would find out what he thought about what had happened and where we went from here. It wasn't like Alice and Rose hadn't been badgering me to get on it and call him and to not just imagine what he was thinking.

I cleaned up around the house, got dinner started for Charlie and myself and went upstairs to check my email and do my homework. At least I had been able to slightly keep up with the classes I was in, mostly due to Alice and Rose taking exceptional notes.

Charlie got off work on time for a change and after dinner I decided to call Edward again. This time I called the land line number he'd given me the night before he left. It rang about 4 times before someone picked up. I almost dropped the phone when a woman's voice answered.

"Uhm, is Edward there?"

"Oh, he's just in the shower getting ready to go out."

I gasped. "Oh. Uhm. Okay then." I didn't know what to say, my mind was still hung up on the fact that Edward was in the shower, there was a girl answering his phone that knew that and they were going out.

"Can I get him to call you back? It's no problem."

"Uh. No. That's okay. I'll try another time!" I quickly hung up the phone and sat there somewhat in shock. My eyes filled with tears and I found myself slumped on my bed sobbing. He'd moved on. He was with another girl. One of the things that I had deeply feared had happened. What was I going to do now?

Shakily, I grabbed the phone again and dialled Alice's cell. As soon as I heard her voice, I broke down in sobbing tears again.

"Bella? What's wrong?"

I couldn't answer through the sobs that tore through my body.

"Bella, don't move, I'll be right there!"

Not 15 minutes later, the door to my bedroom was flung open and I felt her wrap her arms around me. I turned my face into her shoulder and couldn't stop crying.

"Bella. Honey. What's wrong? Please tell me!"

"Edward. Girl. Phone." Was all I could force out .

"Okay. I think I have it. You called Edward and a girl answered the phone?"

I nodded silently against her shoulder.

"Did you leave a message for him to call back?"

I shook my head.

She leaned away from me to look at my face and sort of shook me.

"Why not? How's he going to know you called?"

I looked into her eyes and hiccupped. "But Alice, a girl answered the phone."

Alice shook her head. "Bella, his roommate's girlfriend, or fiancée or whatever she is, lives with them. Of course a girl might answer the phone."

My eyes wide, I looked at Alice for a few minutes then buried my face in my hands.

"Oh my! I think I'm going crazy!"

I heard Alice laugh at me and put my phone in my hand. "Phone again"

**Edward's POV**

I saw Angela putting the phone down as I walked out of my room into the living room.

"Who was that?"

Angela looked down at the phone with a quizzical look on her face and turned to me, "I don't know. She asked for you and when I said that you were in the shower, she just hung up. Could it have been Bella? She seemed surprised."

I wandered over and grabbed the phone and checked the caller ID. Crap. It had been Bella! Of course she would phone when I was in the shower, isn't that just how it would have to go. I looked up to see Angela looking at me and realised that I hadn't told Bella the living arrangements here so she didn't know that I was actually sharing the apartment with a couple. What was she going to think when a girl answered the phone? CRAP!

I stared at the phone for a few minutes, wondering if I should actually phone back now or wait until she did. I grabbed my cell off the coffee table realising that I hadn't turned it on when I'd left my last class today. I turned it on hoping she would call back and I could explain why a girl had answered.

"Okay, well Ben should be ready in a few minutes. Are you still coming with us or are you going to stay home now?" Angela asked with a bit of a smirk on her face like she already had figured out the answer.

"I actually think I'm going to stay home in case Bella calls back, Angie. I really don't want to miss her call if she's going to make the effort to talk to me."

Angela smiled. "I completely understand Edward." She wandered into their room, yelling at Ben to hurry up.

I wandered into the kitchen to see if there was anything at all to make for dinner for myself but apparently none of us had thought to go shopping yet. Take out it was but would have to wait a bit. I didn't know if Bella would call back but I didn't want to tie up either the land line or my cell in case she did.

Ben and Angela left for dinner and kindly offered to bring something back for me which I graciously accepted. I was happy to have them as roommates. I may have not known them long but we had just clicked when we met and I felt like I'd known them longer than just a week. It was a nice feeling to have someone I could trust away from home.

At a loss of what to do now while I waited to see if Bella called back, I wandered into my room, grabbed my guitar and wandered back into the living room. Playing seemed to calm my nerves and I really needed that right now. I hadn't been playing much lately and I missed it. I'd actually delved into writing some songs earlier in the summer and I decided to see what I could do with them. I got lost in the music for a while and the phone ringing actually startled me. I grabbed it, checked the caller ID and breathed a sigh of relief.

It was Bella.

**Bella's POV**

It wasn't long after Alice left that Charlie came home so I couldn't phone Edward back right away like Alice wanted me to. I had to admit that by the time dinner was done and Charlie was ensconced in his chair to watch some sort of sports on the TV, I was getting quite anxious about calling Edward again. Did he really want to hear from me?

Once in my room, I sat and stared at the phone for quite awhile. I finally realized that sitting there wondering what he would say wasn't being very proactive so I took a deep breathe, picked it up and dialled his number again.

It rang a couple of times before it was answered. The instant I heard his voice, I melted. My senses were awash with him. How could someone' voice affect this way. All he had to do was say hello and my body reacted. After the stress of the last few weeks, I allowed myself to just enjoy these feelings for a minute.

"Hi, Edward."

"Bella, I'm so glad you called back! I'm sorry I couldn't grab the phone earlier. That was Ben's girlfriend, Angela, that answered. We share the apartment."

I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was anxious that I believed him and I did. Whatever else Edward had done, he was always honest with the people around him.

"I know. Alice told me when I talked to her."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm better."

There was silence on the line for a couple of minutes. I wasn't sure what to say to him now that he was on the phone with me.

"Bella? You still there?"

"Yes." I answered in a low voice. I decided to be honest with him. "I just don't know what to say."

"How about I start? I'm very happy that you decided to call me tonight. I was starting to be afraid you weren't ever going to want to talk to me again. I know your emotions are all over the place right now and I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere. I know we've only been really talking for the past week but I really want to get to know you more. I may not remember much about the night we spent together Bella but I do remember the intense feelings I had at the time. I would like to explore those feelings with you, if you want. I know that you have had feelings for me for years now and I feel bad about the way I behaved regarding that. If you still feel the same way, that is."

I was stunned into silence. Edward really sounded sincere in what he was saying. Maybe he wasn't actually just hanging around last weekend because of the possibility of a pregnancy. Maybe he did actually care. Was this what Rose and Alice was trying to get through my thick head? That Edward did want to be with me.

I took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to put everything I was feeling into words.

* * *

2634 words

Posted November 12, 2009


	12. Chapter 12

**The original characters belong to .. the new characters and plotline are all mine.**

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Welcome new readers. I hope you are enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think**

**: - )**

**I am still seeking a Beta reader if anyone is interested, just DM me :-)**

**___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 12**

**Bella's POV**

The silence stretched on for a few minutes and I realized that I would have to say something soon or Edward was going to think I didn't really want to talk with him at all.

"Edward, I do love you. I realize that you don't really believe me and considering how you used to treat me, I don't really know why I still do but there it is. I've also realized that although I love what I know about you, there is a lot that I don't know. I'd like to take time to get to know you. This is like closing the barn door after the cow has already got out but we'll have to deal with the situation the way it is."

I paused to sort out my thoughts.

"It's not going to be easy, with you in Seattle and me here in Forks but I would like to make the effort to see where this could go, if that is what you want to do. Although this past weekend was pretty scary, I did like that we spent that time together."

I heard Edward take a breath.

"_I'd like that too Bella."_

"Are you coming home this weekend?"

"_I wasn't supposed to come home until Thanksgiving at my parent's request but I'm sure they won't mind if I do come home this weekend. My school work was easy this week so there isn't really anything for me to stay here for and I'm sure Angela and Ben won't mind having the apartment to themselves for a couple of days before they get bogged down in homework."_

I couldn't help but smile at the thought that Edward could come home in a few days. I did really need to see him in the flesh to believe he really felt the way he said he did.

We talked for a little while longer then said goodnight after making arrangements to spend some time together on Saturday. He would come back to Forks on Friday after his last class and call me when he got to town.

I reluctantly hung up the phone and wandered downstairs to say good night to Charlie. It was getting late and there was school to attend in the morning. I couldn't wait to talk Rose and Alice and let them know what was going on. They'd been the most supportive friends that a girl could ask for and I would be eternally grateful to them. If not for them, I might have had a complete breakdown.

**Edward's POV**

I slowly hung up the receiver, not quite believing that the conversation with Bella had actually happened. Sighing with relief, I sat there for a few minutes. She was willing to give me a chance; to give us a chance.

I picked the phone back up and called my parents to let them know that I would be coming home for the weekend. They weren't really surprised. After catching them up on my classes and telling them more about Ben and Angela, we said good night. They actually even told me to extend an invitation to them to come with me some weekend for a visit. I guess they wanted to get to know the people I would be spending time with for the next couple of years.

I called Em and Jaz next through a conference call; it was easier to talk to them together rather than separately. Letting them know that I would be coming back Friday night, they wanted to know if we were going to get together. I suggested we all get together with the girls, figuring that Bella might be more comfortable in a group setting then just the two of us after the emotional roller coaster that we had just been on last weekend. I told them what was going on right now with Bella and I was happy to hear that they'd been keeping an eye on her at school. Apparently Bella had been the mystery girl that had scrapped with Tanya at the party and Tanya wasn't too happy about it. I could care less about Tanya but I knew what a vicious bitch she could be. I also knew that Rose and Alice would have Bella's back too.

I told them that I'd talk to Bella about Saturday night for a group date when I called her on Friday evening. I hung up from my two best friends and reclined on the sofa with a satisfied feeling. I was going to see Bella again in a few days.

The week passed too slowly for my taste. Time seemed to stand still and I knew I was driving Ben and Angela crazy with my impatience for the weekend to get here.

Finally, Friday came and I was almost tempted to just skip my last class but knew my mom would kill me if she found out. I somewhat patiently attended the class and bolted out as the bell rang. I got to the apartment and packed in record time and was on the road to Forks.

I arrived just before dinner was ready. I wasn't sure how I got through sitting there when all I wanted to do was phone Bella and see if she wanted to do something with me tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow. I could see my parents looking at me once in a while and smiling. Alice kept giving me knowing glances and smirking at me like she knew something.

Dinner was done and I raced up to my room and grabbed my cell out of my bag. One of mom's rules was no phones at the dinner table. A rule that no one fought her on. I dialled Bella and she answered on the 2nd ring.

"_Hello Edward"_

"Hi Bella. How are you?"

"_I'm fine. How was your week?"_

"Very long." I said with a laugh. "I couldn't wait for it to be over so I could come home and see you."

I could almost hear her blush over the phone.

"What would you like to do this weekend? Jaz and Em thought we might like to join them and the girls tomorrow night. I think they have dinner and a movie planned."

"_That sounds like fun."_

"What would you like to do this evening? Would you be interested in going out for a cup of coffee and talk?"

"_Yeah. I'd like that Edward. Give me about an hour?"_

"Great! I'll see you then!"

**Bella's POV**

Now I was nervous. I was going out on an actual date with Edward!

I had just opened my closet door to see what I could wear when the phone rang Alice's ringtone.

"Hi Alice."

"_Bella! I'm so excited for you!"_

"What Alice?" I decided to play with her a bit and play dumb.

"_Bella! Don't do that! I know you're going out with Edward in a bit! What are you going to wear?"_

"I was just trying to figure that out. You know my wardrobe, any suggestions?"

"_Blue! Wear your royal blue shirt with black jeans. It's a casual thing so don't go dressy or anything."_

I grabbed the shirt she was talking about and nodded in agreement. Then shook my head, realizing she couldn't see me.

"Okay, got it. Thanks Alice. I'm really nervous!"

"_Don't worry Bella, Edward is just as nervous! You should see him" _ she said with a laugh.

I checked the time and realized that I only had 30 minutes to get ready. I quickly said good bye to Alice with the promise I would call her as soon as I got home. I dressed and went downstairs to let Charlie know I was heading out for a bit and that I wouldn't be out late. He waved at me distractedly just as there was a knock on the door. I opened it to see Edward standing on the porch wearing dark jeans and a grey shirt, his hair dishevelled as usual like he couldn't keep his hands from running through it. He looked gorgeous as usual and I could feel my heart rate speed up and my breath shorten just from the sight of him.

I took a deep breath to try to rein in the physical manifestations of my feelings before I literally jumped him and demanded that he make love to me.

He smiled hesitantly at me and I realized I was just standing there staring at him. Shaking my head to clear it, I turned to the coat rack and grabbed my jacket and purse, yelled good bye to Charlie and joined Edward on the porch.

"I thought we'd just go to the diner if that works for you. Their coffee is pretty good stuff."

I nodded, "Yeah, that sounds great."

We drove to the diner in relative silence. I wasn't sure what to say to him. The last time he'd actually seen me, I'd been in a frame of mind that was beyond devastated and I wasn't sure what he thought about what happened that night. He kept looking over at me and smiling. I knew he was trying to reassure me and it did help a little.

We found a table in the back of the diner away from the other occupied tables. Our waitress just happened to be Fae from school and she looked happy to see us.

"Hi Bella, Edward. Great to see you! Can I get you something to drink while you look at the menu?"

Edward answered for both of us, "Just a coffee for us thanks Fae. We've both already ate."

She was back in a few minutes with the coffee pot and leaned down to speak quietly to us both. "Just a head's up you guys. Tanya and Lauren just walked in."

Edward grimaced as she said Tanya's name and that gave me a warm feeling. I knew that they'd been together in the past but was happy to see he was no longer interested in her in any way.

"Thanks for letting us know, Fae" I wasn't looking forward to any confrontation with her. I knew that there would be repercussions from me attacking her the night of the party but so far Jaz, Em, Rose and Alice had kept it away from me. I had heard rumours of her spreading gossip about me but I didn't hear what she was saying and I didn't care. The people that knew me were aware of what was true and what was not. That's all that mattered in my world.

I looked over at Edward and saw he was watching me closely. I gave him a small smile, "So how are your classes going so far? I know it has only been a week but how are your teachers?"

"The teachers are actually pretty good. I'm taking a wide variety of classes the first year to help me narrow down what I actually want to do with my life. Ben and Angela are in a few of my classes so it helps to have someone you know there."

"That's good."

"How are your classes going?"

"They're okay, I guess. My head wasn't really in the game for most of this week so I have a bit of catch up to do. I couldn't believe the amount of homework we were given for the first week. Luckily Rose and Alice took awesome notes for each class so I was able to do most of the work. I just couldn't seem to concentrate at all."

"I hope that's changed now."

"Well, well, look who we have here." A voice came from nearby filled with venom.

We both looked up to see Tanya and Lauren standing a couple of feet away from our table.

"The asshole with his bitch."

I gasped and Edward growled.

She looked right at me. "So now I know why you were in such a hurry to get rid of me that night. You had planned to crawl into his bed yourself!"

I looked away from her, blushing. There wasn't much I could say to refute it because that was pretty much the plan that night. I heard Edward get up and stand in front of her, shielding me from her sight.

"Tanya, get out. Right now. What I do and who does it with me is none of your business. We were never in a relationship and I'm sorry if you thought otherwise."

I heard a slap and swung my head around to see a hand print start to form on Edward's face. I could see the fury in her face as she looked at Edward and then around him to me. I was a little frightened if I was honest with myself. I'd never had such a deep sense of hate directed at me.

**Edward's POV**

I was so nervous waiting for the time I could leave to pick up Bella that I paced around the house until my mother finally told me to sit down. Finally I figured the time was close enough and literally ran for my car.

The diner wasn't very busy when we got there and we found a table away from the other patrons.

We had just started talking when we both heard the spiteful voice spit venom in our direction. Great, just what I needed. Tanya. She'd only ever been a casual fuck to me and she knew it. I didn't like the way she was talking to Bella and I was going to do something about it. I could see Fae reaching for the phone when she heard Tanya slap me. I shook my head at her letting her know I had this.

I guess I could have been a little more diplomatic with what I said to her but I wasn't in any mood to be polite to this bitch. She had no right to talk to Bella like she was and I was going to let her know it not thinking of the future consequences.

She went to slap me again and I grabbed her hand in mid swing. "Leave now or I will have Fae call the police and charge you with assault. I am not kidding either."

She gave me and Bella another dirty look, turned on her heel and left, Lauren trailing behind her. I turned back to Bella to find that she had her head buried in her hands against the table. I kneeled down next to her seat "Are you alright?"

She nodded silently, peaking out from her hands. When she saw that Tanya was indeed gone, she sat up and gave me a small smile.

"I made a big mistake. I shouldn't have gone after Tanya that night, Edward. I think I have a serious enemy there."

"Don't worry about it," I said as I put my hand on her back. "She doesn't have the guts to do anything, she's all talk."

"I don't know, she's pretty angry."

The mood shot for the night, I asked is she just wanted to go home and she agreed that it might be best. On the way to her home, I let her know what time the others wanted to meet for the movie and told her I'd pick her up then. I walked her to the door and gave her a hug good night. I didn't want to over step and try to kiss her the first night but she decided to take matters into her own hand and when I let her go, she moved closer to me and reached up to kiss my lips. The taste of her went straight to my groin and I tried to hold my lower body away from her. She didn't need to know the affect she had on me with just a kiss from her. She stepped back, turned and walked into the house with a small smile on her face.

I couldn't help but smile myself as I walked back to my car and headed home.

* * *

2771 words

Posted November 14, 2009


	13. Chapter 13

**The original characters belong to .. the new characters and plotline are all mine.**

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Welcome new readers. I hope you are enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think and if you have any ideas for the story, I am always happy to listen **

**: - )**

**Chapter 13**

**Bella's POV**

I couldn't believe how good this weekend turned out to be in spite of the run in Edward and I had with Tanya on Friday night at the diner. I wasn't looking forward to school on Monday but happy that I wouldn't be alone. I should have known my actions from the night of the party would rear its ugly head and bite me in the ass.

Saturday night the 6 of us went to dinner and a movie. The guys even willingly sat through a "girlie" flick with not so much as a single complaint. Edward was a perfect gentleman and so handsome in his tight black jeans and form fitting dark grey t-shirt. His bronze hair tousled like he had nervously been running his fingers through it before he had picked me up for dinner. It took all the restraint I had not to reach over and try to tame it just a little.

We had all agreed to go to Port Angeles for our night out and went to a nice little Italian restaurant. I had to grit my teeth when first the hostess and then the waitress decided to flirt with Edward right in front of me. Luckily I restrained myself from decking both of them. Edward didn't even give any indication that he even noticed either of them. He seemed to have only eyes for me which really gave me a warm feeling deep inside. Maybe he was really starting to care about me.

Alice kept giving me small smiles all throughout dinner like she could read my mind every time she saw me looking at the two girls that were flirting with Edward. I would smile back and she would roll her eyes. Edward was extremely attentive to my every need throughout the night. It was fairly late when we got back to Forks but luckily we didn't have to say good night. Since it wasn't a school night, Charlie had agreed to me spending the night with Alice. We all ended up back at the Cullen's house in the family room, chilling out and talking into the wee hours of the morning. We all eventually wandered off to our various sleeping places, Edward even walked me to Alice's bedroom door.

We stood there for a few minutes just looking at each other. I was so torn on what I wanted him to do. I wanted so desperately for him to kiss me but I knew deep inside that it wasn't a good idea at this point. I had been pretty bold the night before but I wasn't sure exactly how Edward had felt about it. We were starting new. Clean slate. From the look in Edward's eyes, I could see he was having the same inner struggle.

I decided to take matters into my own hands and leaned up and gave his cheek a kiss.

"Thanks for tonight Edward. I had a really great time."

He smiled at me, his eyes brightening with pleasure as he in turn kissed my cheek. "I did too, Bella."

I turned towards Alice's room, figuring that it would be a while before she came to bed, if she did at all. Jasper was in one of the guest rooms after all. I smiled when I thought of how happy Alice was. It'd been a long time in coming for those two.

I heard Edward go down the hall as I closed the bedroom door and grabbed my overnight bag, making my way into Alice's bathroom to shower and get ready for bed. After an hour passed, I knew Alice wouldn't be joining me so I made use of her empty bed. Laying there thinking over the evening before, I smiled happily. The thing that I'd been dreaming of for the past few years seemed to be really happening. Edward was interested in me.

**Edward's POV**

The weekend had gone without a hitch, except for having to deal with Tanya on Friday night. What a fucking Bitch she was. I knew it before, of course, but her actions in the diner drove it home.

I tried to downplay it some for Bella but I was worried about her being at school with Tanya and was definitely going to have a talk with Emmett and Jasper before I left to go back to Seattle. There was no way that bitch was going to do something to Bella in my absence.

I knew Bella was completely aware of my sexual adventures during high school. I had unfortunately been the worst kind of ass to her and bragged about them in front of her, knowing that she believed herself to be in love with me. That included the times I foolishly spent with Tanya, much to my regret. To Tanya, I was a notch on her bed post, so to speak. We used each other but she always tried to take it a step further than what it was meant to be. After a brief period of time, I eventually put a stop to it and that just pissed her off. In any other relationship she'd ever been in, she'd been the one to call things off. According to her, no guy ever told her no, until I did.

I still wasn't convinced that Bella was really in love with me no matter what Angela said, but I knew that there were feelings there. And the emotions and feelings that I remembered from the night we were together were so intense, that I got hard just thinking about it. I was beginning to wonder if I had enough will power to take our relationship slowly. I wasn't looking forward to spending my time in Seattle away from her.

I left Bella at Alice's bedroom door and reluctantly made my way to my room. It was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. It had been a great weekend and I couldn't wait to see Bella in the morning. I planned on taking her to breakfast before I had to drive back to Seattle and get ready for classes on Monday morning.

Lying in my bed, I couldn't get my mind off of her. Knowing she was just down the hall was killing me. After a couple of hours, I gave up and wandered downstairs to grab a drink and play on the piano for a while. I was so absorbed in the music that I almost missed the electrical feeling in the air that only happened when Bella was in close proximity to me. I looked up to see her leaning against the door jamb, watching me play. I smiled at her as our eyes met and waved her over to join me.

I moved over a little on the bench so she could sit next to me. I played the song I'd been working on since the night we had been together even though at the time I hadn't known I was writing it for her. I watched her face as she watched me play and was pleased to see that she seemed to really like it. She must have felt my eyes on her because she looked up to see me watching her. I smiled again and she blushed at the attention.

Time seemed to stand still for a few minutes as I looked into her eyes. I let the last note fade away as I turned towards her, not breaking eye contact. I felt drawn to her by an invisible thread, pulling us slowly toward each other. I leaned down and gently put my lips to hers. I felt her respond with a sigh as she leaned towards me. I felt her small hand move up to grasp my hair as I put my arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

I grazed my tongue along her bottom lip, gently asking entrance. She opened her mouth to me with a deep sigh and our tongues engaged in the dance of passion older than time. Her taste of strawberries infiltrated all of my senses and my body responded instantaneously. How could she get me so hard from just a kiss?

I drank deeply of her essence and trailed my lips down her throat. I heard a moan come from deep within her and I moaned in reply. Her hands had both moved to grip my hair and pulled as we both became more turned on by each other. I moved my nose to a spot just under her ear and gripped her body close to mine. Taking a deep breath, I leaned back away from her and gently removed her hands from my hair.

"Bella, we have to stop."

She groaned and sighed in response. "No. We don't."

"Yes, we do." I chuckled. "We agreed to go slowly."

She sighed again, closed her eyes and bowed her head. Putting my index finger under her chin, I moved her face up to mine and placed a gentle kiss to her lips. She opened her eyes at the touch of my lips and I leaned back to look into her eyes again.

"It's not that I don't want you Bella." I grasped her right hand with my left and brought it down to my lap, placing it onto my very obvious reaction to her that lay beneath the buttons of my jeans. "This is what you do me after just one kiss."

Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes widened, glazing over in instant lust, her hand unconsciously grasping me. I moved her hand away and brought it up to my lips with a smile.

"After everything you've been through the last few weeks, I don't want to just jump back into physical relations with you Bella. This isn't easy for me but I am trying to do the right thing here."

"Oh, Edward. You don't have to be noble with me. I want you. I've wanted you for forever. I want to feel again the way you made me feel that night. I want to feel your skin against mine. I want to feel you inside me. I just want to feel you."

Although it was hard to believe, I could feel my dick getting harder with each word she spoke. Without even pausing to think, my lips were on hers again and my tongue was delving into the soft velvet of her mouth. She arched against me as her tongue met mine. As I drew her closer to me, I felt her move her body to straddle my lap, rubbing her core against me, making me moan at the friction. She moaned in response and arched her back again; her hands reaching up to grasp my hair once again and tugging on it. The sensation ripped through my body.

I pulled away from her lips to look into her eyes. Trying to determine whether this was really something she wanted. All I could see was yearning and lust reflected back at me. "Bella, are you sure?"

She nodded her head emphatically and I stood up with her in my arms, heading up to my room as quietly as possible. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pushed her face into my shoulder.

**Bella's POV**

I wasn't sure what made me get up and go downstairs. Once I reached the foot of the stairs, I heard the music coming from the piano and it was like it drew me with an invisible thread toward it. I stood in the doorway just watching Edward play. I would never get tired of watching his long elegant fingers flow across the keyboard of the instrument he made sing.

I blushed when I realized that Edward had looked up and caught me watching him. He indicated for me to join him on the bench and I didn't hesitate. He was leaving tomorrow to go back to Seattle and I was already feeling the loss of his presence in my life. It was still so bizarre to me that he was such a part of my life since that one night; a part of my very essence. Only Rose and Alice seemed to believe me when I said that. I was pretty sure my father would scoff at the notion and I wasn't sure that Carlisle and Esme wouldn't just pat me on the head and placate me.

Most adults believed that teenagers were just too young to really know what love was all about but I knew what I felt. Edward was my soul mate. Deep down I knew that we were meant to be together. I could only hope that he would come to believe it too.

I watched Edward play for a bit then noticed that the music had stopped. I looked at him to see him staring intently at me, and then lean in to kiss me.

I was having a total fan girl moment here, I laughed to myself. Edward Cullen was kissing me! Of his own volition too! I felt my body respond instantly to the feel of his lips and the electrical charge that flowed between us.

After a few minutes, he tried to withdraw from me but I wouldn't let him. We'd already slept together and even though I'd agreed to go slow in our exploration of this new relationship between us, I didn't want to go that slow. What was the point to back pedalling to before we slept together? That boat had already sailed and I wanted more of Edward. I wanted to be with him tonight, something tangible to hang on to until we could be together again.

I seemed to finally convince him and he picked me up to carry me upstairs to his room. I buried my face into the crook of his neck hoping we didn't run into anyone in the house on our way.

He laid me gently onto his bed and turned back to the door and locked it. He stopped briefly at the stereo on the shelf, turned on his Ipod and then grabbed something out of the drawer of his dresser. I watched him come towards me and my breath started to get shallow as he neared the bed. Kneeling, he leans over and softly kisses me. Soft and gentle wasn't really what I wanted tonight and I reached up my arms to loop them around his neck and aggressively kissed him back. He moaned into my mouth and my body tensed in reaction. Warmth spread swiftly though me, straight to my groin. I could feel my clit start to throb in reaction and moisture start to moisten my panties. I wove my hands through his messy hair and drew his lips tighter against mine, opening my mouth to thrust my tongue into his.

Edward takes over as the aggressor in our dance of passion and my heart starts to race. He lies down next to me on his bed and pulls my body close to his as he drinks deeply of my mouth. His hands straddle my lower back and I can feel his throbbing member as it cradles in the apex of my thighs. I moan at the sensation of him against me. I reach down and grab the hem of his shirt and pull it up over his head as he does the same with mine. I sigh at the brief loss of contact with him but he soon brings his lips back to mine in a deep kiss that I feel all the way to my toes. I'd never really believed that kissing your soul mate could make your toes actually curl until Edward had kissed me.

Edward's hands travelled down my shoulders, skimming my collar bone until they reached my breasts. He leaned away from me to follow his hands with his eyes, turning the emerald colour of his eyes dark with lust. My breath hitched as his rough hands grazed my already erect nipples. Leaning down, he pulled one between his lips and flicked it with his tongue. I whimpered at the sensations that went through me. As he laved first one of my breasts then the other, I reached up to grasp his hair.

"Edward." I gasped out breathlessly.

I could feel him smile against my skin as I arched into him. I felt his hand wander down my side under the edge of my sweat pants. My hands tightened and he groaned against me.

I moved my hands down his back along his glistening muscles. I couldn't believe how good he felt against me. He moaned at the feeling of my hands caressing him and I grazed my nails lightly down his back until I reached the waistband of his jeans. I could feel his body shiver against me and I smiled at the reaction I'd achieved.

He leaned away from me to look into my eyes and smile down at me. "Lose the pants Edward." I ordered as I returned the smile.

2939 words

Posted November 24, 2009


	14. Chapter 14

**The original characters belong to .. the new characters and plotline are all mine.**

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Welcome more new readers! Made my day to see so many new people reading it!**

**I hope you are enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. **

**Please leave a review and let me know what you think and if you have any ideas for the story, I am always happy to listen **

**: - )**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**Edward's POV**

The feel of Bella's nails down my back sent shivers down my spine. The electrical charge that coursed between us shot straight through my groin. When she smiled up at me and ordered me to get rid of my pants, I almost lost it right there.

I reached down with one hand and undid the buttons on my jeans. There were times; I had to admit, when button fly jeans were a pain in the ass. Trying to negotiate around her, I managed to remove my jeans and boxers expediently and exulted in the feeling of her being that much closer to me.

I grazed my hand up to the apex of her thighs and she arched her back at my touch. My cock automatically twitched in reaction and I swiftly dipped my head down to kiss her red, swollen lips. Her hands moved around my back again and I shivered in response. Moving my hand to the waistband of her sweat pants, I slowly pushed them down over her hips and down her legs, removing her panties with them.

As her lower body was exposed to my touch, I felt her shiver against me. I groaned at the feeling of our slick skin moving against each other. I gently moved my fingers against her clit and down to her lower lips, slick with moisture. I dipped two fingers into her and hooked them against her G spot. She moaned in reaction and arched against my hand. I smiled against her lips in response. To know I had such power over her body was such a turn on for me. I kept moving my fingers in and out of her with my thumb rotating against her clit. She ripped her lips away from mine and was panting heavily.

"Edward!" She screamed my name as an orgasm ripped through her body.

As she was coming down from it, I moved over her and placed my cock at her entrance, moving my hands up to cup and caress her breasts. Slowly entering her warm, moist heat, I groaned at the feeling of her closing around me.

Her body clenched around me and I almost lost it right then and there. I was still for a moment while I felt her body get used to me being inside her. When I felt her body start to move against mine, I slowly pulled out and then pushed back in with mild force. A small scream came from her as her body tightened around my cock. Her hands came up to grip my hair and I moaned loudly in reaction.

Her hands gripped my hair tighter in response to my reaction. I looked down into her face, her eyes were closed and her neck was arched in ecstasy. I leaned down to kiss the spot on her neck that seemed ultra sensitive and her back arched even further while her muscles tightened around me even more. The friction between our two bodies was more than I could bear and I was so close to the precipice of my orgasm that I tried to take a couple of deep breaths to hold off.

As I willed my body to hold off, I could hear Bella's breathing start to increase. I moved again slowly as her body moved with mine. Her breath was coming faster and faster as was mine. She was getting close to orgasm and I knew she would cum very soon. As I had that brief thought, I felt her muscles clench tightly around my cock and as her orgasm hit so did mine. Flashes of light seem to go off behind my closed eyes as my body exploded with ecstasy. I heard Bella scream her release and I held onto her tightly. It took a few minutes before my vision cleared and I seemed to come back to my body. It was the most powerful orgasm I'd ever had in my life.

**Bella's POV**

Oh my gods! I felt like my body had been ripped apart at the cellular level and put back together again. I'd only ever been intimate with Edward and even the last time we'd been together, it hadn't been this powerful.

He pulled himself out of me and I instantly felt a sense of loss. He rolled over to my side and pulled me over to lie across his chest. Nuzzling my face into the crook of his neck, I took a deep breath of his scent and sighed. He smelled heavenly and I wanted to be able to remember it while we were apart. I was going to miss him so much.

I wasn't sure how I would survive the time he was in Seattle but I was grateful that I had Alice and Rose to get me through it. I also knew that I'd be having a talk with Charlie soon and letting him know that Edward and I were seeing each other. I wasn't sure how he would feel about the news. He was well aware of Edward's reputation throughout high school but I had to let him know what was going on. Charlie and I loved each other greatly, we were just never outspoken about our feelings. It was just how our relationship was and it worked for us.

I drifted off to sleep cuddled against Edward convinced that there was no better place to be than in his arms.

Edward and I awoke the next morning gripping each other tightly. Even in sleep, our unconscious minds knew we needed each other. I felt tears come to my eyes as I lie holding him. His arms moved to hold me even tighter as he felt me move against him.

"Shhhh. Don't cry. I'll try to get home next weekend or maybe you, Alice and Jasper can come out to Seattle to visit me. It'll be a little cramped unless Angela and Ben are out of town but we'll make do."

I felt his hand caressing my back as he talked. I knew there was no time for us to make love before he had to leave since the others would be up and about soon. It made me incredibly sad. I only hoped he was feeling the same way.

We lay in bed holding each other and talking quietly while we waited for the others to start moving around the house before we got up and dressed for breakfast. Everyone was sitting around the breakfast table in the kitchen when we got there. Esme was actually making breakfast for everyone this morning which was unusual in itself. She smiled at us and indicated for us to take a seat. There, spread out on the table, were pancakes, toast, omelettes and much more. Edward and I slowly picked at our food while Emmett, Jasper, Rose and Alice dug in with gusto, obviously working up quite the appetite during the night. At this thought, my eyes met Alice's and I smirked at her. I was sort of surprised when she looked away blushing.

We helped Esme clean up after we finished eating and Edward disappeared for a few minutes with his mom afterwards. I realized then that I had sort of kept him to myself for most of the weekend and he hadn't spent a lot of time with his mom or dad.

I went up to Alice's room to pack up my bag to go home after Edward left. He was waiting for me when I got back downstairs, holding out his arms to me as I approached him.

"Do you want me to drive you home before I leave or do you want to drive your truck later?"

"I'd rather spend a few minutes alone with you here and drive my truck home later. I think I'll hang with Alice and Rose for a little while before I go home. I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

We ended up hanging out in Edward's room listening to music and cuddling on his bed until we couldn't ignore the time any longer. He had to get back Seattle with enough time to read his assignments for the week and get enough sleep for his Monday classes. I tried to keep up my spirits but I knew he could tell I was sad that he was leaving. I was really afraid that the way I was reacting was going to scare him off. I felt he might decide that I was just too needy for him, too immature to be a part of his life. I think that's what scared me the most, that he would decide that I was too much trouble. If that happened, I wasn't sure I'd survive.

We said goodbye in his room and I went to Alice's room as he headed downstairs, letting me know he'd send the girls up to me. It was about 20 minutes later that they came in the room to find me sobbing into one of Alice's pillows. I felt their arms go around me in comfort.

"Bella, it's okay. We're here for you."

I sat up slowly, wiping my eyes. "I know Alice, it's just my insecurities rearing their ugly heads" I tried to laugh. They both smiled in response and gave me big hugs.

"Time for Rocky Road ice cream!" Alice screamed out suddenly and Rose and I laughed at her.

I realized that I would never survive if I didn't have these two in my life. Thanking the gods for such good friends, I followed them downstairs to raid the freezer for ice cream.

After awhile, I decided to head home and have a talk with Charlie before he got too involved in his sports like he did every night. Better to get it over with and give him time to get used to what I was going to tell him before next weekend came around. I couldn't really complain about his hobbies, he wasn't into any weird things like some parents were; just his TV sports and fishing with Billy Black and Harry Clearwater mostly.

I found him sitting at the kitchen table cleaning his revolver. "Hey Dad. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

He looked up from what he was doing and gave me a small smile. "Sure Bells. What's up?"

"Well, I wanted you to know that I'm seeing Edward Cullen."

He looked confused for a moment and then it clicked in his head what I had just said. His eyes got wide and a crease appeared in his brow.

"What? You're seeing WHO!?"

I looked directly at him and held his gaze, "Edward Cullen, Dad. I'm seeing Edward Cullen."

He slowly put the revolver down on the table and leaned back in his chair. He hands were clenched into fists.

"What do you mean you are "seeing" Edward Cullen? He's left for Seattle hasn't he?"

"Well, we're dating, Dad. He's going to come home some weekends."

"Bella, I forbid it!" he practically shouted at me.

My eyes went wide with shock. I knew Charlie had heard about Edward's reputation in school but he'd never done anything illegal. His reaction to my news was over the top to say the least.

"Dad! I'm almost 18 years old, actually in just a week or so. You can't forbid me to see Edward. I will see him."

"Not while you're living under my roof you won't!" I couldn't believe it possible but his voice gotten even louder.

I stood there staring at my father like I couldn't really believe the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Fine! I'm sure Alice's parents will let me stay with them until the end of the school year!" I screamed back at him. With that, I turned away from him and ran upstairs to my room and slammed the door, locking it behind me.

I couldn't believe Charlie. What the hell was his problem? My fears about my relationship with Edward forgotten, my emotions turned to complete anger at Charlie. How dare he?! I loved my father but there was no way that he was going to come between Edward and me. I didn't really care what I had to do to make sure of that. I pulled out my cell phone and sent Alice a message to call me as soon as possible. I went to my closet and grabbed my large overnight bag out and started shoving clothes into it. I was going to Alice's tonight and I didn't really give a damn what Charlie thought.

I'd just filled the large bag and was grabbing my small one for toiletries when my cell rang with Alice's ringtone.

"Hi Alice."

"What's wrong Bella? I just got your message."

"I decided to tell Charlie that Edward and I were seeing each other tonight and he lost it. He basically forbids it. I told him that wasn't happening and he said I couldn't see Edward while I was staying under his roof. Can I come and stay with you?"

"Bella, of course you can stay with me. Do you want Jasper and I to pick you up or are you going to come over in the truck?"

"Well, I was wondering if you guys could come and get me? I know Charlie would never ever hurt me, but he's really mad right now and so am I. I don't want us to say anything else to each other that we're going to end up regretting."

"Sure. We'll be right there. We were just heading home and are just around the corner from you."

While I waited for Jasper and Alice to arrive, I took my small bag to the bathroom and grabbed my stuff from there. I quickly sent Edward a message on his cell to let him know that I was staying with Alice tonight and that I'd talk to him tomorrow. I didn't get into everything, not wanting him to be upset. He couldn't really do anything about it anyway. Better to talk to him about it later.

They arrived within minutes and surprising enough, Charlie let them into the house. I unlocked my bedroom door and Jasper grabbed my huge bag for me. I didn't say a word as I walked by Charlie and out the door. For a moment it looked like he was going to say something but instead he just watched me leave.

By the time we got back to the Cullen's house, it was getting late and I was exhausted from all the emotional ups and downs of the day. Alice told me to just head to Edward's room for the night. Apparently he'd gotten my text and called Alice to see what was going on knowing that I would be contacting her about whatever it was. She'd let him know about the fight with Charlie and he told her to send me to his room for the night. It certainly worked for me to be surrounded by his scent and to sleep in the bed we'd been together in last night.

Just as I was settling down in his bed, my cell phone rang. It was him.

"Are you okay?"

"I am now."

"I just wanted to give you a quick call and make sure. Did Alice tell you to sleep in my room?"

"Yup. I'm lying in your bed right now."

"Oh wow. Great picture to be stuck in Seattle with! I wish I was there holding you right now."

"Me too."

We said good night and I fell asleep thinking about Edward, wishing he was there beside me.

* * *

Pssttt .. press the green link below and let me know what you think eh?

2719 words

Posted November 30, 2009


	15. Chapter 15

**The original characters belong to .. the new characters and plotline are all mine.**

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Welcome new readers. I hope you are enjoying the story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think and if you have any ideas for the story, I am always happy to listen.**

**This chapter is a little longer and mostly in Bella's POV. Hope you enjoy it.**

**___________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 15 – Trials & Tribulations**

**Edward's POV**

I was worried about Bella. She was too close to her father to let her feelings for me come between them. I had a suspicion what his problem with me was and if Bella thought about it for a moment, she would realize what it was too.

A couple of years ago, a cousin of Tanya's from out of town, was drugged at one of our parties. None of us, Emmett, Jasper or I, were involved but because of the drug she was given caused short term amnesia and I was the last person she remembered seeing when we were dancing, she accused me of giving her the drug. My name was cleared off the record because we were all under age but I think Charlie remembered it all going down and his attitude about us seeing each other came from that. I could understand why he was angry; we were all drinking while under age and there were drugs at the party even though we were unaware of it. I was going to have to talk to him myself and see if I could reassure him of my feelings for Bella. I only hoped I could smooth things over for her.

I was just glad that she was at my parent's house tonight where I knew she was tucked safely in my bed and that Alice would be there for her. I knew she was extremely upset about fighting with her father and it pained me to not be able to hold her in my arms and comfort her.

Thinking about her while I lay in my bed, I knew my feelings went much deeper than I'd wanted to admit to myself so soon. I'd wanted to take things slow with Bella but just being near her ignited my body into a blazing passion that I couldn't resist and it seemed to be the same for her.

I sent Bella a text message to let her know I was thinking about her, hoping she got it in the morning before she headed to school. I knew it was going to be a hard day with the fight with her dad and dealing with Tanya. It was going to be a really long week and I wasn't sure how to get through it.

**Bella's POV**

I woke up surrounded by Edward's scent and I honestly didn't want to get out of his bed. I knew I had to go to school but thinking about what was going to be there today, I really felt like pulling the covers up over my head and hiding from the world. I heard my cell phone pinging that I had a new message and I rolled over and grabbed it off Edward's nightstand. It was from him, letting me know that he had been thinking of me last night. Warmth infused my body as I read the message a couple of more times.

I heard a knock on the door and Alice's popped her head in before I could say anything.

"Breakfast is almost ready Bella. I let you sleep in after everything that went down yesterday. Mom wants to talk to you too."

I groaned. Esme was like a mom to me and I knew she'd want to talk to me about Charlie. She probably also wanted to talk to me about Edward.

Alice grinned at me. "Come on Bella, mom won't bite."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just don't really want to talk about Charlie's reaction to the fact that I was dating Edward. I'm not sure what the hell his problem is but I don't like it! I hope that your parents don't react the same way or I'm going to lose it."

"I'm pretty sure they won't Bella. Mom and Dad have actually been hoping for years that you and Edward would get together. Mom is such a romantic. She thinks you'd make beautiful babies together. I'm sure a lot of her opinion has to do with wanting to be a grandma someday though." She said while laughing.

I blushed, remembering how close that possibility came to be.

We headed downstairs after I got showered and dressed. I was surprised that Alice had actually waited for me. As we walked into the kitchen, Esme looked up and smiled at us.

"Are you alright Bella? "

"Yes ma'am. I'm okay." I took a seat at the kitchen table with Alice as Esme started to serve the food. She sat down next to me.

"Bella, you know you're welcome to stay as long as you like. You're like a daughter to us but as I'm sure you know, you're going to have to talk to your father and come to some sort of understanding. I'm sure that if you think about it, you'll understand why your father reacted the way he did. I've already talked with Edward this morning about it and he's going to see if your father will talk with him the next time he is home. But I think it might be a good idea for you to talk to your father first. Carlisle and I would be happy to come with you if you want us to."

I sat there for a moment, considering Esme's words. The more I thought, the more I realized what had my father so upset. It was that dam party a few years ago where Tanya's cousin had been drugged. We all knew that Edward had nothing to do with it. In fact, we had a suspicion of who did do it but could never find the proof. I'd forgotten all about the incident. Edward's name had been cleared but that hadn't changed Charlie's opinion of the matter. He had still held Edward responsible since the party had been at the Cullen's house. Sometimes it just totally sucked having the Chief of Police as a father. We were lucky he hadn't busted any parties that followed that one. But with the parent's permission, Esme and Carlisle had had that covered and he totally believed that I didn't do any drinking while I was there. Of course, he never actually saw me after one of the parties since I always stayed overnight with Alice and Rose.

I looked up at Esme and realized she was waiting for me to say something.

"Yeah, now I remember why he would react that way. But it was totally not called for. He never gave me a chance to say anything. Maybe it would be best if you and Carlisle were there when I talked with him. I'm not going to stop seeing Edward. I really care about him."

It felt awkward telling his mother how I felt about her son but Esme just smiled and patted my arm. "It will be okay Bella. Do you want to see when we can talk to Charlie or would you like Carlisle to talk to him first?"

"Esme, I'm still so angry at my father, I think it would be best if Carlisle talked to him first. I might say something that will just piss him off again."

"Okay, Bella. I'll talk with Carlisle this morning and see if he can talk to Charlie sometime today. We'll see about getting him to come over here this evening so we can all have a chat. We do consider him a really good friend and it pains me to see you so upset with him. It'll all work out for the best."

She smiled at me as Emmett and Jasper stormed in from outside. I was shocked that they showed up here when Edward wasn't around. Esme just gave them each a hug, told them she had been expecting them and to have a seat. Breakfast was just being served. Carlisle walked in at that point, kissing Esme as he passed her on the way to the table.

"Oh good, you haven't left for the hospital yet. I need to speak with you about something before you go." I overheard Esme quietly say him as she placed a plate in front of him.

He affectionately kissed her cheek and thanked her before digging in with gusto. "No problem hun. I'll have a few minutes after we eat. We'll talk then."

Alice, Emmett, Jasper and I all ate in silence. Alice and Jasper were making goo goo eyes at each other and Emmett was making fun of them the whole time. My thoughts kept drifting to Edward, wondering what he was doing right then. Just as I was thinking that, my cell went off. I'd forgotten it was in my pocket. Both Carlisle and Esme looked at me with raised brows and I apologized profusely. I'd accidentally broken the most important rule at the table, no cell phones.

I muted it quickly while we all finished our breakfast, then I ran up to Edward's room to grab my back pack. I quickly checked to see what message had just come through and saw it wasn't from who I'd hoped. My stomach dropped. I almost dropped my phone when I saw his name. I thought I'd never have to deal with him ever again. Could my day get any worse? Maybe I shouldn't put that question out there, it seemed Murphy was having a hay day with me. I was so not impressed.

The door opened behind me and Alice came in. "What's taking you so long Bella? We need to get going or we'll be late."

I couldn't say a word. I just held my phone out to her. She looked at me strangely but took it and looked at the text message list. Her jaw dropped and she looked up at me, shaking her head.

"What. The. Fuck. How dare he send you a message? And how the fuck did he get your phone number? You changed it when he left town. Isn't the restraining order still in effect? Have you read it yet?"

Mutely I shook my head, just standing there staring at her. She opened up the message and her face went white.

"I'd really like to just delete this so you don't have to read it Bella, but I think you should take this to Charlie."

"Your mom and dad are going to arrange for me to talk to Charlie about Edward tonight. I'll show it to him then. Ali, why is this happening now? Just when I was so happy, well with the exception of Charlie's reaction to Edward that is."

I was on the point of tears and I felt Alice wrap her arms around me in comfort.

"Are you going to tell Edward?"

"I don't know Ali. Do you think I should? He can't really do anything about it. Wouldn't it just stress him out?" I knew Edward was aware of what had happened before but he hadn't been involved in all the drama. He more than likely wasn't even aware of half of the shit that went down. Alice had been there for me all through that period and knew every single detail of what I had endured.

I really didn't want to read what he had sent me but I also felt that I had to. I had to know what I was dealing with.

While Alice still had her arms around me in a supporting hug, I turned the phone around in her hand so I could see the screen. I scanned the message and gasped.

_**Well Bella. I hear you have been a bad, bad  
girl. You didn't think a little piece of paper would  
keep me away from you, did you? I am always here.  
I know what you do. I know who you're with. I will  
come for you. YOU ARE MINE.**_

I shivered. James was back. What did he mean that he knew what I did and who I was with? He wasn't allowed back in Forks. How could he know? I think that's what scared me the most. That he somehow knew things about me without being around. That must mean he has a spy somewhere around here. But who was it?

We heard Esme yell up the stairs that we were going to be late for school. Alice gave me another big hug and I grabbed my bag. As we got downstairs, Esme saw that we were both white as sheets.

"Alice, Bella what's wrong?!?"

Esme and Carlisle were both aware of the whole story of James since Carlisle was my Doctor. Alice spoke up before I had a chance and told her about the message on my phone.

Esme jaw dropped and she immediately yelled for Carlisle. He came running from his study, took one look at us and immediately knew something was very wrong.

Alice was still holding my cell phone. In the rush to get downstairs, I forgot she had it. Without a word, she handed my phone to Carlisle. The screen was still on the message so he read it quickly and handed it to Esme.

"Have you called your father Bella?"

"Er, no. I haven't yet. I thought I would tell him tonight." I wasn't sure where he was going with this.

"Bella! You can't wait on this. Come with me. Alice, you come too. I know Bella will feel better with you there. Esme, can you call the school and let them know the girls won't be in until later this morning?"

We headed out to the car and drove to the station. Charlie's car was already there as I knew it would be. Anytime I wasn't home he would always go to work early. Carlisle parked near the entrance of the building. I wasn't sure if he thought James was going to pop out from behind a bush and attack me or what but I really loved how protective he was of me. It was one of the things that had gotten me through what James had did to me, the support and comfort I got from both Esme and Carlisle was beyond anything I could have expected.

Rose was the only other person in town that knew the complete truth since I'd been underage and Charlie had made sure it was kept out of the newspaper. It was somewhat handy to have the Chief of Police as your father and live in a small town where he knew everyone personally. Alice sent her a message to let her know what was going on while we had been driven here. I knew she was expecting to meet up with us before classes and I didn't want her to worry about us when we didn't show up.

Rose immediately responded asking if we wanted her to come down too but we decided one of us should stay in school. The teachers and principle were all aware of the situation with James because of the restraining order that was in effect and yes, I knew it was still because that was one thing Charlie would completely ensure was up to date.

Carlisle kept his arms around us as we went into the building and told the desk clerk to alert Charlie that we were on our way to his office. From the tone of his voice, the officer didn't even think to argue the fact.

He opened the office door and ushered us inside. Charlie looked up in surprise at our arrival.

"Carlisle! What are you doing here? Why isn't Bella in school?"

Carlisle didn't respond verbally, just handed my cell phone over to my dad still on the message that James had sent.

Charlie took one look at it and started cursing the air blue. I'd never actually heard some of the words that were now coming out of my father's mouth and Alice and I looked at each other, trying hard to resist the giggles that were rising in us.

I wasn't sure how I could find something to laugh about given the situation but I was guessing it was more of a stress reliever than anything else.

Charlie grabbed the phone and started firing questions at whoever answered. He hung up and looked at Carlisle.

"Well, he is still in Port Angeles but with this message, I don't know what the chances are that he will stay there. Dammit! I thought this was done with. He was supposed to go through mandatory counselling after he was released. I knew that the time he got wasn't enough and apparently the counselling was useless too." Charlie huffed out in exasperation.

"Charlie, the most important thing will be Bella's safety. How would he have gotten a hold of her cell phone number? I know it was changed when he went to jail. Please know that Esme and I consider Bella one of our own, Charlie. Whatever you need to keep her safe, we will be there. And I know this isn't the best time but I'd planned on talking to you today about the situation between Bella and Edward."

I looked at Carlisle in shock, Alice gasped and Charlie just looked at Carlisle.

"Carlisle, I know you care for my Bells and I am deeply grateful for that but I do have issues with her dating Edward."

"Charlie, come on. Get over it. Yes there were drugs brought to that party but my kids had nothing to do with it. We all knew that James was the likely suspect, we just couldn't prove anything. Give Edward a break. He didn't hurt that girl. In fact, he has even been in contact with her since the situation to make sure she was okay. He felt really bad that someone that was a guest in our home was treated so badly. Bella has cared for Edward for a long time now and I believe that Edward has done the same although he was unaware of his feelings until recently. Let the kids figure it out. They aren't harming anyone and their both old enough to deal with whatever happens between them. You have to trust Bella to deal with her own life now that she's 18."

I had gasped when Carlisle had said that I cared for Edward. I hadn't known that he actually knew what my feelings were concerning his son. And to hear that he thought Edward also cared for me, I was beyond elated despite the current situation.

Charlie looked at Carlisle in silence for a few minutes and then over to me. He looked down at his desk for a moment before meeting my eyes again.

"Alright Bella, I'll give Edward a chance but it doesn't mean that I have to like it until he proves himself to me. As for James, the restraining order is still in effect but I will feel better if you are not alone at any time. I don't want you to be at the house by yourself, if you plan on coming home that is. I'm almost tempted to hire a body guard for you. And Carlisle, James wasn't too impressed with Alice and Rose when he got convicted so I'd be careful about their safety as well."

Carlisle cleared his throat. "If I might make a suggestion, why not have Bella stay with us? I'll be talking with Rose's parents as well. We have the alarm system and the panic room in the house. She'd be very safe there and she'd never be alone. We can get her to and from school with no problem. I'm sure the boys will be available to make sure they are safe. Both Jasper and Emmett have taken martial arts for the last few years and both have 1st degree black belts so they'll be able to safeguard the girls whenever they aren't at the house. I will also be hiring some extra security for the house."

I watched Charlie's face as he thought over Carlisle's offer. I knew he was torn between wanting to protect me himself and the fact that the Cullen's house was more than safe for me.

Eventually, he nodded his head. "Yes. That is a good idea. I can get one of the officers to go with you to my place so Bella can grab more clothes and I'll alert the school security team and apprise them of the situation."

Carlisle nodded and turned to Alice. "Let's leave Charlie and Bella alone for a few mintues." They left the room, leaving me and my father looking at each other rather awkwardly.

He came over to me and gave me a rather ill at ease hug, "Bella, it will be okay. If he tries anything, anything at all, we'll catch him and this time he will go away for much longer."

"I know Dad. I won't deny I'm really scared that he'll show up in Forks but I know you'll keep me safe." I murmured as I returned his hug.

"Okay, let me call an officer to follow you to the house. I think it'll be okay to go to the rest today's classes. As soon as you leave, I'll call the school and inform them of the situation. Oh and I'll have a new cell phone for you by the end of the day. I'll bring it over to the Cullen's after school. Only give the number to the Cullen's right now Bella, no one else."

"Okay Dad."

We left his office and met up with Carlisle and Alice in the reception area, as he signalled to an officer to join us. It was Dan Chambers who'd been with the department ever since I could remember.

"Can you follow my daughter and her friends to my house, Dan? She needs to get some stuff from there and take it over to the Cullen's. Then she'll be heading to the school and I'd like you to follow them there too. My daughter's stalker has made contact with her."

We got my stuff, swung by the Cullen's house and headed to school for the rest of the day. The whole thing hadn't even taken 2 hours but it'd felt like it was halfway through the day.

And so began my period of house arrest. Why is it that the victim of a crime seemed to always be the one that was punished?

* * *

Reviews inspire me .. j/s

3838 words

Posted December 7, 2009

Copyright © Mahikawuf 2009


	16. Chapter 16

**The original characters belong to .. the new characters and plotline are all mine.**

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Thank you all for reading and Much thanks to all that send me reviews. Your questions and comments about the story mean alot to me!  
**

**: - )**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**

**Chapter 16**

**Edward's POV**

I called Bella's cell phone over and over again during my free period in the afternoon. There was no answer and no response to any of the texts messages I'd sent her all day. I was starting to really get worried. I knew she wouldn't be avoiding me so something else must be going on. I even tried to text Alice with no response. It was not like Alice to have her phone off for any reason or to not respond to anything I sent her.

I was almost tempted to skip my afternoon classes and find out what the hell was going on but decided against having the wrath of my mother on my head. I suffered through them and got out of the building as fast as I could. I called Bella's phone again with no luck. Same with Alice's. I then called the house. My mother answered and seemed to know immediately by the tone of my voice that I knew something was wrong.

"Edward, do you remember James?"

"Yes, I remember that douchebag. He's the one that drugged Tanya's cousin at one of our parties a couple of years ago."

"Well, we always suspected that, dear, but we didn't have proof of it."

"What is going on Mom? I've been trying to get ahold of Bella all day and there's been no answer on her cell phone."

"Her father has her cell phone right now. She should be calling you a little later with a new phone number as soon as her dad drops off the new phone to the house. Besides the party incident, do you remember anything else about James?"

"Wait, wasn't there some shit that went down with James and Bella around the same time as the drugging incident?"

"Yes dear. What do you remember?"

"Wasn't he put away for stalking and harassing her, Mom?"

"There was more to the situation than that Edward. I won't go into the details because it's not my place to. I'm sure Bella will tell you about it but please don't pressure her to. It was a very difficult time for her and it took her a bit to get through it."

"Alright Mom. But what does this have to do with her not having her cell phone?"

"She got a text message from him today Edward. A threatening one. Your father took her down to the station as soon as he found out about it and her father kept her cell phone, hoping that James would send more messages, I'm assuming. More evidence against him, I guess."

"WHAT?!?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. James had done MORE to Bella than what I knew about? What. The. Fuck. I had this irresistible urge to run to my car and drive back to Forks to protect her. I was positive she was scared to death if my mother wouldn't even tell me what all went down before.

"Edward, don't get any stupid idea that you're going to ditch school and come home. We have the situation under control. Bella is moving in here for now. Do you want her to stay in your room? She seemed to be comfortable there last night when she was upset with her father. It might be an added comfort to be in your space."

"Yes! Of course she can stay in my room! Whatever she wants! As long as she's safe. How did you know I was thinking of driving home?"

"I know my children, dear. And I know how you feel about Bella. We are adding extra security here and the alarm system will be on all the time, just in case you come home this weekend."

"Oh I'm going to be there Mom! I want to be with Bella and find out more about what James did!"

I wasn't happy that I had a whole week in which to wait before I was home with her. I was unofficially under orders to stay at school until the weekend and that almost grated on my nerves.

"Can you ask Bella to call me as soon as she can, Mom? I don't care how late it is. She can use my line in my room if she wants."

"Alright dear. She did opt to go to school this afternoon. The school has beefed up security as well so don't worry about her. Charlie has already established that James hasn't left Port Angeles so there isn't an immediate danger to Bella. We are simply taking as many precautions as we can."

I knew my mother would never be dishonest with me. Both her and my father believed in honesty in our family and apparently they were both aware of my feelings for Bella, possibly before I was. I said goodbye to her and headed back to the apartment.

I couldn't seem to concentrate at all no matter what I did. I just kept thinking about Bella and wondering what the whole story of James was. I knew his rep around Forks and knew beyond a doubt that he wasn't someone that Bella would ever get involved with. I tried to think back to that time but I had been pretty immersed in dealing with the drugging situation and hadn't really paid much attention to what was going on with my sister's best friend. Now I wish I had.

I vaguely remember him always showing up wherever Bella and Alice happened to be. What I had thought was a coincidence back then, was apparently not. I had heard several rumours around the school that they were a couple but Alice and she had always been together so that hadn't seemed to fit. At the time, I shrugged it off as just wishful thinking on his part and didn't think much else about it.

I eventually gave up trying to concentrate on my studies and went to lie down on my bed, hoping some music would distract me until Bella called me.

It was about 7pm when I heard my cell phone ring. I sat up quickly and grabbed it off of my bedside table.

"Bella?"

"No jackass it's not Bella!"

"Oh hi Em, Whatsup?"

"I gather you've heard about what happened today?"

"Mom told me some. Bella got threatened by James and she's moving into the house for a while."

"Yeah. Also Jasper and I are escorting the girls to and from school as well. Just to be on the safe side. Your dad thought it was a good idea since we're black belts."

"Wow. Charlie and Dad must really be worried about James. Mom said that the school has increased security and that Dad had added more security guards for the house. She also let me know that they would have the alarm on 24/7 now. No sneaking into the house anymore Em!"

Emmett laughed. "Actually your Dad has setup Jazzy and I with our own code. I guess we're part of the family for sure now."

"Em, do you know what happened back then? I was too involved in the incident with Tanya's cousin and didn't really pay attention to what else was happening at the time."

"No buddy. I don't. It was kept pretty hush hush. I know that James did some jail time and I heard through the grapevine at school that he was in some sort of counselling. Of course, the information was coming through that Victoria chick who'd had a crush on him since grade school so I don't know how reliable it is. Given what is happening now, I'd say some serious shit went down then."

"Damn, I was hoping to have a clue of what happened before I talk to Bella. I don't want to say the wrong thing or anything."

"I do remember that she was out of school for a few days around that time. No one said what happened and none of us asked. I think Alice and Rose know but they didn't say anything at all about it."

"Thanks Em! Maybe I'll give Alice a call and see if she can give me a little more info."

"Alright, I can take a hint when I hear one. Talk to you later buddy. Oh, are you coming back this weekend?"

"Yeah. I'm going to come home on Friday afternoon after my last class. I want to be there for Bella."

"Sounds good dude! See you then!"

"See ya Em!"

I hung up the phone and debated on whether to call Alice right away or wait to hear from Bella first. I would prefer to hear the story from her but could I be sure she would tell me? I knew she liked to protect others and it would be just like her to downplay the situation so as not to worry me. I was going to be worried no matter what so I hoped she would tell me everything so we could just deal with it.

My phone rang again and this time it was Jasper. It seemed I was going to hear from everyone tonight, except the one person I really wanted to. I looked at the clock as I answered the phone and saw that it was now 730pm. It felt a lot later than that.

"Hi Jasper!"

"Hey Edward!"

"Are you calling to tell me about James?"

"Crap! Emmett already phoned you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he beat you to it." I responded with a laugh. Those two were continually competing for everything and anything. I was positive that the only things that were off limits in their competition were anything that had to do with their girlfriends. It was a good thing too because knowing Rose, Emmett would end up in the hospital if he ever made any challenge or bet about them. I knew my cousin quite well.

"Okay. Well I wanted to make sure that you knew we had the girls covered anyway."

"Thanks Jasper. I want to talk to my sister about James and what went on. I have to wait for Bella to call with her new number before I can talk to her. I am so tempted to just head back there and be with her, you know? I feel very protective of Bella."

"I understand Edward but Em and I got your back. We'll take care of her until you can get back to town."

We said our goodbyes with Jasper telling me that he'd keep me apprised of anything that went on. I tried to call Alice but got no answer so I ended up leaving a voice message to call me as soon as she could.

Frustrated with the inability to talk to Alice or Bella at this point, I tried to concentrate on my homework from today's classes. After about a half an hour, I gave up and decided to work on Bella's song. It worked for a while but eventually all I could do is watch the clock and wonder what was taking so long for Bella to call me.

I was crawling out of my skin by the time my phone rang with my regular ring tone. I grabbed the phone and answered it quickly.

"Bella?"

"Edward." She said my name with a sigh.

"Are you alright? Em and Jazz called earlier to let me know there was a problem?"

"Yeah. James contacted me on my cell phone this morning. I thought it was you saying good morning. Charlie has checked on the restraining order and his whereabouts. He's still in Port Angeles. We don't know how he got my number though. Oh! This is my new number so don't forget to save it. Only Charlie and your family, including Em and Jazz, will have the number for now."

"Got it Bella. I'll save it as soon as we're done talking; although now that I hear your voice, I really don't want to say goodbye any time soon. How are you, really?"

"I don't want to hang up either. I'm okay I guess. I'm happy to be in your room though. I feel safe here. Your sheets still smell like you."

I heard her gasp and I could almost see the blush that would be covering her cheeks as she realized what she had just said. I laughed a little.

"I wish I was there with you. I miss you, Bella. I'm not sure that I'll be able to survive this week without seeing you." I knew I shouldn't be saying these things to her given what was happening there but I couldn't seem to help myself. It was almost like a compulsion. I had to make it clear to her that I needed her like the air I breathed.

I could hear her breath hitch through the phone. I was so in awe of the feelings that had developed in me for her. It had only been a little while since I admitted to myself that there was something between us. Something had always been between us but Bella had realized it a lot sooner than I had. She had been brave enough to admit her feelings for me while I had suppressed mine like skittish dog running from a stranger.

"I miss you too, Edward. I wish you were here with me."

I sighed. I'd just made it harder for her without meaning to. I was really going to have to stop doing that.

"Bella, I know it's too late to get into it tonight but we really need to talk about James. I would like to know what all happened before. There is obviously a lot more to the story than I know about."

"I'm so sorry Edward. We were told we weren't allowed to tell anyone the whole story because of the legal issues. I guess I can talk about it now that he's broken the restraining order by contacting me. Can we talk about it this weekend? You are coming home right?"

"This weekend is a good idea and since I have an early afternoon class on Friday so I'll be heading home as soon as it's out. I should be there by dinner if not earlier."

I heard a sigh of relief come through the phone. I hope I gave her something to hold on to for the next few days. At least I knew that there was no way James could get to her while she was staying with my parents and Em and Jazz were taking care of her.

We reluctantly said good night after talking about different things for the next couple of hours. I knew I needed to get some sleep and that Bella needed to sleep after her stressful day.

"Bella, look into my night table drawer. You'll find a CD in there that I made for you. I was going to give it to you this weekend. I hope it helps you relax and sleep. I'll see you soon but I'll call you every night."

"Found it! I'll put it into the player as soon as we hang up."

"Night, Bella. Sweet dreams."

"G'night, Edward"

I settled down in bed and thought about her in my room, in my bed and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Pssttt .. press the green link below and let me know what you think eh?

2668 words

Posted November 30, 2009


	17. Chapter 17

**The original characters belong to .. the new characters and plotline are all mine.**

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Happy Reading everyone!**

**I was going to apologize for the delay between chapters 15 & 16 in the last chapter but forgot. I was away from home twice to see Sam Bradley and Marcus Foster and it took a few days to catch up on sleep .. but I'm back in the groove again. I hope. Here's another chapter. Please drop a note and let me know what you think.**

**Some were asking what James did to Bella. Here are some of the details of it.**

**____________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 17**

**Bella's POV**

The day had passed with caution and security surrounding me. I was so happy to be back in Edward's room, snuggled under the covers on his bed and surrounded by his smell.

I was finally alone and able to make the phone call I'd been waiting all day for. I'd gone to school after getting my stuff from Charlie's house over to the Cullens' house. Unfortunately, I couldn't concentrate on anything happening at school and could only hope that Alice and Rose took great notes. My thoughts kept flittering between what James could do and wanting Edward to be with me.

I settled back against the pillows and dialled Edward's number. My heart started to race as I heard his voice. I knew he wanted to know more about James but I really didn't want to tell him over the phone. James hadn't sexually assaulted me but not for the want of trying to. He had assaulted me physically, mentally and psychologically. It had taken a while to heal from the trauma of the last day I'd seen him; the day he had finally been arrested by my father.

I was only 15 that last day but for months, he had stalked and harassed me. He had been obsessed. Alice and Rose had tried to talk me into telling my father about what was going on, but stubborn as I was, I couldn't believe that he would go as far as he did.

I remember those months as clear as if it had happened yesterday. At first, he would send me love notes but as I continued to ignore them, he started to become angry and more aggressive He would show up wherever I was; outside my classes at school, at my work, even outside the house when I was home. Then the notes he started leaving began to get angry and threatening. He would have me or no one would. That last day, Alice had happened to find one of the notes and angrily told me that if I didn't talk to my father that night, then she was going to. I knew better than to believe she wouldn't.

That night, I was home alone in my bedroom waiting for my father to get home from work so I could talk to him about James when I heard a crash from downstairs. I felt so stupid to have let this go on for so long. I knew without a doubt that it was James downstairs in the house. I was petrified as I heard him move through the house and up the stairs, shouting my name all the while. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was nearly time for Charlie to be home. He'd told me that he would be home early tonight as someone had volunteered to cover the last part of his shift since he'd been working so much overtime in the 2 weeks prior. I'd known that if I could hold him off for a short period of time, I'd be safe. I looked around my room and stupidly realized that I'd left my cell phone down in the kitchen.

As his footsteps came closer to my bedroom door, I'd started to shake. The door suddenly flew open and there he stood. His eyes were wild. I almost couldn't believe it was the same person I'd met the year before at a party at the Cullen's house. He stalked towards me like a wild cat cornering his prey, grabbed me around my throat tightly and pinned my arms behind my back as he pushed me down onto my bed. I remember him saying that I was his and always would be. That no one would ever have me if he couldn't. I screamed and then I must have blacked out at that moment from lack of air because the next thing I remembered was waking up in the hospital with my father and Carlisle standing next to the bed. As I had looked around, I noticed Alice and Rose standing outside of the open door. I tried to talk to ask what had happened but my voice came out hoarse.

Once I was more lucid, I learned that Charlie had just been pulling into the driveway as I had screamed and rushed into the house. He'd gotten to my room before James could rape me or do any more physical damage to me.

I'd stayed in the hospital for the next few days and had spent many weeks seeing a counsellor that specialized in dealing with the trauma of this type. I was diagnosed with PTSD. I still occasionally had nightmare from that night but they were getting fewer. Thinking back over the last few weeks, I realized that I hadn't had one since the first night that I'd been with Edward.

If I was honest with myself, I knew this experience with James was one of the reasons why I'd never gotten beyond 2nd base with any of the boys at school that I'd tried to go out with. The other reason, of course, was because of Edward. My feelings for Edward had evolved just before James had started stalking me. The confession of my love for him that Edward had overheard had happened in the middle of a conversation with Alice about everything that had been going on with James. He just hadn't heard that part of the conversation.

I realized after the failed attempts at seeing other boys that I would never get past my feelings for Edward, even though he didn't feel the same way about me.

After so many months of trying to ignore my feelings for him, I realized that they weren't going to go away. It was one of the reasons that I'd decided that Edward had to be my first. I also realized that when I thought about being with anyone else, I started to actually panic. The memories of James grabbing my throat and forcing me down onto my bed would come to my mind and I would freeze.

I knew from hearing of his conquests at school that he'd never hurt me no matter how much he had dismissed my feelings for him. If I couldn't have him forever, then I could at least have the one experience with him that I would remember for the rest of my life. It didn't seem to me at the time that I would ever have the chance to have a normal relationship so I bided my time until I could be with Edward.

I wasn't sure how to tell him what James had done to me. I knew that Edward had his own issues with James and I wasn't sure how angry he'd be once he knew everything. It had been kept very quiet after it happened because of the deal that the district attorney had made with James' parents. Edward, Jasper and Emmett were never told exactly what had happened that night.

He did do some jail time and then had to go to mandatory counselling once he got out. It obviously didn't work. My father had insisted that there be a restraining order in place as soon as he was out of jail but we all knew how hard those were to enforce. He had to be physically within a certain distance of me to be in complete violation of the order. I knew Charlie would do whatever he could to make sure I was safe and so would Esme and Carlisle.

After promising to tell Edward the details when he came home on the weekend, we reluctantly hung up. I grabbed the CD that he had directed me to and put it in the player on his bookshelf. As the music started to play, I melted onto the bed. It was Edward playing the piano. I closed my eyes and let the sensations of his music wash over me. It was the first time all day that I felt completely safe and relaxed. I grabbed my phone after the first song was finished and sent him a message.

_OMG Edward. How did you do this? I love it. It's exactly what I needed tonight. Thank you. XO_

It wasn't long before I got a reply.

_You're welcome Bella. I'm glad you like it. I'm not going to tell you how. A guy's gotta have some secrets. LOL Go to sleep and I'll see you in a few days. XO_

I turned on my side, shoving my face into the pillow inhaling a deep breath of Edward's unique scent and drifted off to sleep with his music playing in the background.

I was woken by the feeling of the bed moving abruptly up and down. I opened my eyes to see Alice bouncing on the side of the bed and rolled my eyes.

"Good morning Alice."

She laughed and landed next to me on the bed.

"Good morning Bella!"

"Are you going to be my alarm clock while I'm here?"

"Of course! We can't have you late for school or anything."

"Okay. I'm up. I'll be down as soon as I've had my shower."

Alice just smiled at me. "Yeah right Bella. It's going to take you at least 15 minutes to even get out of the bed. Boy do you have it bad for my brother." She giggled. "I just don't want to know the details on what you do in here with him, 'kay? It would just be too gross."

I laughed at her. "Fine, no details. Okay well, if it's going to take me 15 minutes to want to leave his bed, I suggest you leave so I can get to my wallowing. I'll be down soon. I presume Esme is working on breakfast and the boys will be here soon?"

"Actually they're already here watching Mom make breakfast. They both said to tell you not to take too long cause they're starving. Apparently guard duty makes them ravenous. Rose is here as well."

I giggled with her at the thought of them watching Esme cooking with drool running down their chins.

She left me alone to absorb the Edward-ness of his room but I eventually got up realizing that I couldn't stay in his room forever, even if I wanted to. I grabbed a shower and got dressed, running down to the kitchen where everyone was now congregated.

I looked around at my friends and realized I was one of the luckiest people there ever was. They were my lifeline in this time of stress and I knew that these four would do anything in the world for me. How I'd ever got so lucky I would never understand.

Esme saw me first and waved me over to the table. "Perfect timing, Bella. Breakfast is just ready to go on the table. Have a seat."

I wasn't much of a breakfast person but I did my best to eat something. I wasn't worried about wasting food because Emmett was a bottomless pit.

After breakfast, we headed to class with Emmett driving and Jasper riding shotgun. We immediately noticed the extra security at the school and were wondering how it was being explained. Since I'd only been at school for a partial day, I hadn't had the misfortune to run into Tanya yesterday but I knew I wouldn't be so lucky today. Sure enough, my first class of the day had her in it and glaring at me the whole time. I tried to ignore her but it was getting pretty difficult as the hour went on. It was the only class I had without one my friends in it much to my chagrin. She didn't say anything directly to me but spent a lot of time whispering to her friend Lauren and pointing at me. I did my best to ignore her but was beyond ecstatic when the bell rang and I was able to leave. Emmett was waiting out in the hall for me to take me to my next class. I was pretty sure the boys were going overboard on the whole protection thing but had a feeling that not only were they listening to Carlisle and Charlie, but Edward had also said something to both of them.

The morning passed somewhat pleasantly after that except for the pointing and whispering that seemed to happen in each of my classes. Lunch arrived and Emmett and I headed to our usual table to find Rose and Jasper already there. Within minutes, Alice came running in absolutely livid. Her face was flushed and she looked like she was about to kill someone.

"You guys! Have you HEARD what those bitches are saying about Bella?"

"What? What are they saying?"

"Tanya has been spreading the most vicious rumours about you, Bella! And it's not just about Edward; she's talking about James too!"

I was shocked. What did Tanya know about James? What was she saying?

Alice sat down beside me and put her arm around my shoulders. "I'm so sorry Bella. She's telling everyone that you basically led James on and then had him thrown in jail for some trumped up charge because your father is the Chief of Police. And she's also saying that you seduced Edward when he was drunk and didn't know what he was doing and now you're holding something over his head so he stays with you."

I gasped. How dare she! I knew she would try to trash me at school, but I never expected her to do this. Edward was going to be pissed when he heard about this and I knew there was no way I was going to be able to keep it from him.

Sighing, I looked around the table at my dearest friends who were all glaring at Tanya across the cafeteria. I knew they were ready to kill Tanya for what she was saying but I didn't want them to get into trouble over a bunch of bullshit being spread by a vindictive bitch.

"Alright everyone. We're going to ignore Tanya. She doesn't have a clue what she's talking about and she's definitely not worth our time. Also, under no circumstances are any of you allowed to tell Edward what she's been saying. No matter what."

A chorus of 'but Bellas' went out from around the table.

"I mean it. Nothing."

They grumbled but agreed with me. It wouldn't do any good to upset Edward when he was in Seattle. He couldn't do anything about it anyway. Tanya would spread her poison no matter what anyone did or said about it. All we could do was to ignore her bullshit and hope that not everyone is pulled into it.

The day finally ended and we piled into the car to head to the Cullen's house. We decided to let Charlie, Esme and Carlisle know what was going on at school, deciding that it wasn't in my best interests to keep anything regarding the subject of James away from the parents.

Dinner was a quiet affair, and I was extremely thankful when it was over. I excused myself from everyone and headed up to Edward's room. I hoped that Alice and Jasper and Rose and Emmett would appreciate some time to be together without having to babysit me.

I did my homework while I listened to Edward's CD. I knew he'd be calling me within the next couple of hours and I couldn't wait to talk with him. Even knowing I couldn't really tell him about my day, I just really wanted to hear his voice.

I lost track of time and jumped when my phone rang, my mind going back to yesterday morning when I had looked at the text message from James. Shaking my head away from those thoughts, I grabbed the phone and saw Edward's name on the display.

"Hi!"

"Hi Bella! How are you? Did everything go okay today?"

"Yes Edward. Everything is fine. No sightings of James around here. I'm okay. Would it freak you out if I told you that I really miss you though?"

I heard Edward's intake of breath through the phone. "I was actually just thinking the same thing Bella. I do miss you. I didn't know I could miss someone this much. I want to be there to protect you and I'm feeling quite helpless at the moment."

"I'm okay Edward. Security is tighter than a prison here."

"I may know that in my mind Bella but my instincts just don't want to believe that you're safe unless I'm there. I'm not 100% sure what this is between us but I know I've never felt like this with anyone else."

A warm feeling flowed through my body at Edward's words. After the difficulties of the day with Tanya's bullshit rumours spreading like wildfire throughout the school, it was heaven to hear Edward saying these things to me.

"You already know how I feel Edward. My feelings haven't changed since then."

"I know Bella. I'm still trying to comprehend how you could feel that way about me at that age. I have feelings for you, you know. I just haven't figured out what they are yet."

"I know Edward. It's okay. So, when are you coming back to Forks?"

"Way to change the subject Bella." He said with a snicker. "I'm heading back right after last class so I should be there around dinner."

"I can't wait! I guess I should get to my homework and hit the hay. I'm glad you called."

"Goodnight then Bella. Take care of yourself until I get there on Friday."

"Goodnight Edward."

I hung up and just sat there for a few minutes. I couldn't believe that Edward had admitted to having feelings for me. I couldn't wait to see him on Friday and show him just how much I missed him.

Grabbing my books out of my book bag, I quickly did the assignments. After that was done, I took a shower, turned my CD from Edward back on and went to bed.

The rest of the week followed the same routine. Edward and I didn't discuss anything serious on our nightly talks after that night; mostly I wanted to hear what was happening with him in Seattle. Anything to take my mind off of the crap that was being said at school and having to be practically under house arrest all the time. Charlie came for dinner a couple of times which made me a little sad. I knew he wasn't eating properly without me there. I did all the cooking for us and I knew he'd been heading to the diner without me there to look after him.

I wondered when my life was going to get back to normal or would it ever?

* * *

Pssttt .. press the green link below and let me know what you think eh?

3285 words

Posted December 14, 2009


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Happy Reading everyone!**

**I was trying to get this chapter out quickly but RL got in the way. I'll try to get chapter 19 up in a few days but won't guarantee it until after the weekend. I am working on it : - )**

**Please let me know what you think! There are a lot of you reading but not many are telling me if they like it or not! If not, let me know eh? This is a learning experience for me LOL so feedback is much appreciated. **

**_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 18**

**Edward's POV**

The week was long. Talking with Bella for a few minutes each night just wasn't enough. I could barely concentrate on classes all week. My thoughts kept drifting to what Bella would tell me when I got home.

I knew that there was something I was being kept out of and I didn't like it. For her to not want to discuss James over the phone meant it was really bad. She just wasn't aware that the longer that she didn't talk to me about it, the more my imagination ran away with me. I was hoping that she wouldn't tell me what I feared the most.

Knowing that Jaz and Em were with her all the time was some comfort but I feared that James would do something to everyone I cared about. From my experience with him over the drugging incident, I knew just how off his rocker he had been at that time. He'd always been jealous of me for who knows whatever reason his convoluted mind came up with.

Friday finally arrived and I was ready to just say fuck it and head home first thing in the morning but I knew I couldn't. I was pretty sure that I was driving both Ben and Angela up the wall. I'd let them know that I was going to Forks this coming weekend so they'd have the apartment to themselves. I gave them a general idea on what was happening but didn't even touch on the details that I knew so far.

I I threw my packed bag in the back seat of the car and headed to my day's classes, my mind completely immersed in thoughts of Bella. I knew I would need to get someone's notes for today when I got back because all I was basically doing in class was take up space. As the professor of my last class started to wrap up his lecture, I grabbed my stuff and headed to the door before he finished talking. I could tell he wasn't pleased but at this point, I didn't really give a crap. I was out of here and off to see Bella.

I made it to Port Angeles in an hour 45 minutes and was in Forks in another 45 minutes. Yeah, I drive way too fast. Mom would kill me if she found out just how little time it took me to get home from Seattle. I pulled in the driveway just before 5pm and saw that Alice's car was home. I hurriedly got out of my car, waved at the new security guard by the door and headed inside, remembering to put in my access code as soon as I was inside. There was no sign of anyone in the house which was strange because everyone knew I would be home by dinner.

I went back out and grabbed my bag from the car, planning to take it upstairs and toss it in my room. I reactivated the alarm on my way back in, remembering what Mom had said about keeping the alarm armed at all times and headed up the stairs. As I approached the top of the stairs, I could hear music coming faintly from the direction of my room. I stopped to listen for a moment and realized it was the CD I'd made for Bella. As I stopped at the top of the stairs, I could feel my heart rate increase. Bella was here. In my room. I briefly wondered where everyone else was but dismissed those thoughts as unimportant. My brain seemed to completely focus on the fact that she was here, just down the hall. I had to take maybe 6 paces from the top of the stairs and I would see her. My steps were silent on the carpet as I approached my room. The door was slightly open and as I looked through the opening, I could see her laying down on my bed.

She was lying on her stomach with her head resting on her folded arms, eyes closed and looked like she was immersed in the music. She was dressed casually in a tank top and a pair of sweat pants. Despite the casualness of her attire, my body was reacting to just the sight of her. She was so distracted by the music that I knew she hadn't heard me approach the door. I stood there for a few minutes just looking at her. All I wanted to do was go in and take her in my arms, to drive away any bad memories she had and protect her from everything. I started to reach for the door to push it farther open when I realized that she wouldn't have heard me approach. The last thing I wanted to do is scare the crap out of her.

I walked back down the hall a few paces and turned back towards my room and called out.

"Hello! Is anyone here? Alice! The neighbour's cat is lying on your car in the driveway!" I just had to say it to give Bella a laugh. Alice was completely anal about her car and having the neighbour's cat laying on it. More than once she had threatened to do away with the cat.

I heard a giggle come from my room which I knew meant that Bella had heard me over the music. I heard her feet hit the floor and before I knew it, she was wrapped around me. I dropped my bag as her body hit mine. I guess she missed me a little, I thought with a chuckle.

"Hey, luv. Happy to see me?"

She leaned away from me and I melted into her beautiful caramel eyes.

"I'm so glad you're here! I was waiting for you. The others are taking a break from babysitting duty even though I had to force them to leave me here."

I moved my hand up to smooth back the strands of hair that were covering her face and smiled.

"They want you safe as do I. I don't know what this is between us yet but I do know that I would be a wreck if something were to happen to you so just take the babysitting duty and be happy they care."

Her face flushed at my words. I knew she wasn't really complaining but was concerned about making her friends put their lives on hold to take care of her safety. She just didn't realize that her friends would move heaven and earth for her.

I drew her back into my arms and buried my face in her shoulder as I hugged her close. Inhaling deeply, I relished her scent of strawberries. She squeezed me tight for a moment and then drew away, turning to walk back into my room.

"Are you going to stay in here with me?" She asked softly.

"Wild horses couldn't drag me away."

She blushed and I laughed and grabbed her back into my arms. I couldn't seem to get enough of holding her. She was so funny. Some things didn't embarrass her at all but silly things did. I stood holding her silently for a few minutes before deciding that we had the whole evening and night ahead of us. Now that I had reassured myself that she was safe and sound, I could breathe a little easier.

"What would you like to do tonight Bella?"

"How about just a quiet night here watching movies or something? I'd rather not go anywhere. It's like travelling with a circus these days to go anywhere. I'd rather it just be us here in the house where I can pretend the extra security people don't exist. Besides, I'm sure you want me to tell you about James and I'd rather do that when it's just the two of us. Alice and Rose know most of what happened but Em and Jas don't and I'd like to keep it that way."

The bottom dropped out of my stomach at the mention of James. I could almost feel my blood pressure rise as the thought of what he had done to Bella coursed through my brain. I knew that when he had drugged Tanya's cousin, he'd had plans for her that didn't involve her consenting to anything. If he even did anything close to that to Bella I didn't know if I could control my rage towards him. I still resented him for what he had put my family through and knowing that he had put Bella through hell at the same time had my emotions all over the place. I shook my head trying to calm down before I answered Bella.

"I would like to hear about James, Bella. But could we maybe do it tomorrow? Tonight I'd just like to spend time being with you. We haven't been together all week and you've been through a lot. Let's just relax tonight. That okay with you?"

I could see that she was actually relieved to not have to explain about James right away and I knew then that I'd made the right decision. Tonight would just be about us since the others were out doing their own thing.

"So where's Mom?"

"She got a call from her work. Some sort of an emergency or something with a big client. I told her that I was fine by myself until you got home. And your Dad had some sort of emergency come up at the hospital so he's going to be late as well. I guess we'll have to forage for food ourselves tonight."

"Great! You want to cook or order in?"

She looked at me for a moment before responding, "You want me to cook?"

I replied laughing, "that's not what I meant. I can cook you know or we could cook together. Or just order something. Although ordering out right now might cause issues. The delivery person would get frisked at the gate."

She laughed at that. "It might be a good idea if we just cooked something ourselves. No need to scare a delivery person half to death."

We wandered down to the kitchen and found enough stuff to make up a pot of spaghetti. We had tons of fun cooking together and once everything was done we took our plates to the family room. We each picked out a movie to watch and settled into the couch to enjoy the evening together. It was nice to just be with Bella. We finished eating, cleaned up the kitchen and left plates for Mom and Dad to have when they got home. I assumed Alice would be eating out with Jasper so I put the rest away and we headed back to watch the movies. Snuggling on the couch with Bella made the past week's stress and worry fade away. I couldn't imagine any place I'd rather be at this exact moment than holding her in my arms, inhaling her special scent of strawberries and just being.

We sat through our movies, neither of us really paying much attention to them. The last one started rolling credits by the time I actually looked at the TV having dozed off for a little bit while wrapped around each other.

I'd never been so relaxed around any other girl I'd ever dated. Most of the time I'd spent trying to fend them off, which was probably why I dated so many for so short of time periods. Bella wasn't like that. Her presence was calming to me. That's not to say that I didn't want her. All the time. My god, could she turn me on with just a look or a smile or even the sound of her voice. But tonight was all about just being together. Quietly.

Looking at the clock, I realized it was approaching midnight and Mom and Dad still weren't home or at least they hadn't let me know they were. I gently kissed Bella to wake her up and got her to her feet. We passed by the kitchen and I noticed that the plates I'd left for Mom and Dad weren't on the counter anymore.

"Mom and Dad must have come home while we were sleeping on the couch."

Bella looked at me in surprise. "I didn't hear a thing! That's really weird!"

"They were probably just really quiet after they noticed us."

"Probably. But Edward, the thing is, I hear everything. The slightest noise can wake me up when I'm not in my own bed with my Dad home. When I'm home alone when Dad is working late or even at someone else's house, I wake up. It's a side affect from what happened to me. My therapist told me that it could take a long time to stop being hyperactively aware of my surroundings even while I'm sleeping."

I looked at her in surprise. For one, I didn't realize she'd been going to a therapist for a couple of years now and for two, I'd never noticed her waking up whenever she'd been with me in the last little while. I pointed this out to her and she looked shocked.

"You're right! Every time we've slept together, I haven't woken up once during the night! I guess I feel completely safe with you" she said smiling brilliantly at me.

We got up to my room and took turns in the bathroom getting ready for bed. I was ready first so I got into the bed to wait for her. I turned on the player remotely and Staind's All I Want started to play. The song struck a cord within me. I shut my eyes and let the music absorb me. I felt the bed move slightly and I opened my eyes to see Bella climbing in next to me. I held out my arms to her and she nestled against me. I could feel her completely relax against me like it was the first time in a long time that she was at ease.

"I've really missed you Edward. This week was so long without you."

"I know, luv. I missed you too."

I felt her sigh against me and I listened to her breathing slow. I adjusted my position and felt her arms tighten around me like she was afraid I was leaving. Rubbing my hand up and down her back, I softly kissed her forehead and pulled her closer to me. I nuzzled my nose into her hair, breathing in her scent one more time before closing my eyes and letting the comfort of her and the music surrounding us lull me to sleep.

* * *

**Pssttt .. press the green link below and let me know what you think eh? **

**2586 words**

**Posted December 23, 2009**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Happy Reading everyone!**

**Here's chapter 19 .. yay! LOL. It's a little longer than usual so I hope you likey! Chapter 20 will probably be after the weekend unless I can find some time and energy over the next few days to write. **

**__________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 19**

**Bella's POV**

As I drifted slowly to consciousness, I became aware of a few of important things. I was cuddled against Edward's body, I'd slept the night without waking even once and today I was going to have to tell Edward about James.

I hadn't really slept much since Monday. I kept waking up off and on throughout the nights I'd spent in Edward's room. Every single little sound would jar me out of a sound sleep. Thankfully the CD that Edward made me helped lull me back to sleep each night. I would have been a zombie throughout the day without that music.

I tightened my arms around Edward as a giddy feeling coursed through my body. A feeling of complete contentment encompassed me. I felt Edward's arms tighten around me even though he was still sound asleep. I raised my head slowly to look into his face. He looked so peaceful but still so tired. Glancing over at the bedside clock I saw that it was only 8am. I wasn't ready to get up out of the bed and leave his arms, so I just put my head back down and slowly raised my hand to his chest. I loved the feeling of his skin against mine, the feeling of his muscles under my fingertips. As I moved my hand over his chest and down to his abdominal muscles, I felt him start to stir. He moaned lightly as I caressed his stomach and up over his nipples which hardened under my touch.

I moved my hand caressingly back down his stomach and I leaned up and over to kiss his chest. He moaned again as I moved my lips across one nipple and over to the other. His hand came up to gently grasp my head and I groaned as his fingers wove through my hair.

He slowly raised my head and brought his lips down to meet mine. My lips tingled as they met his and I felt his tongue caress my lower lip, seeking entrance. Our tongues stroked each other heatedly as I lowered my hand further down his body. His cock twitched and hardened as my hand passed over it and I moaned into his mouth at the feeling of power I had over his body.

His hands moved down my back and around to my breasts. I loved the way he touched me. He suddenly rolled us over and leaned over me. Leaning down, he licked across my nipple and my back arched at the sensation. He started sucking gently on my left nipple while he caressed the other with his hand. He moved his lips across to my right breast and continued to caress my left one. His lips started to roam down across my stomach and I felt the butterflies start to fly around in my stomach. I moaned achingly as he travelled further down until he was between my legs, stroking my lower lips with his long sensual fingers. He took my clit between his lips as I felt him put two fingers inside me.

"So wet Bella. Is this all for me?"

I felt my body respond to his words with another gush of moisture as my hands wove up through his silky sex hair. My body felt like it was going to explode as I felt his fingers moving in and out of me and his tongue and mouth suck and lick my clit. Suddenly, his head came up and our eyes met. I could see the same deep desire in his as I'm sure he saw in mine.

He moved up and kissed me deeply and I felt his engorged cock at my entrance. I was so wet, he slid right into me and we both moaned at the feeling. Our bodies moved in counterpoint to each other in a sensual dance that moved faster and faster. The sounds of our lovemaking filled the room and I fleetingly hoped no one could hear us. I could hear him breathing in my ear in quick pants as he came closer to his climax. I felt my body start to tense and I knew I was getting close.

"Edward" I breathed into his ear as my hands clutched at his back and my body arched. "I'm getting close."

"So am I, luv" he responded.

My stomach muscles started to quiver and my inner muscles clenched around him. I felt his groan vibrate all throughout his body and he arched into me and I felt him release into me. We both clutched each other tightly and sighed.

Edward pulled his head up and looked into my eyes for a moment. Satisfaction glowed in his eyes as he brought his lips down to meet mine gently.

I sighed. I smiled.

Edward smiled back at me.

"Are you okay luv?"

"I'm 100% perfect now."

Edward rolled over to his back pulling from me as he did so. I rolled with him and laid my head on his chest. We were lying there quietly for a few moments enjoying the feeling of being together when he suddenly sat up and turned to stare at me.

"Crap! We did it again!"

I looked at him puzzled for a moment before it dawned on me what he was talking about. My eyes widened for a moment and then I relaxed.

"It's okay. Wrong time of the cycle for any problems and I went and got birth control this week. We have to be careful for the first month though so we really shouldn't forget again." I laughed softly.

He smiled back quickly and sighed as he lay back down and gathered me close to him, "We do tend to get carried away don't we."

I had to agree with him there. Once we got together everything else seemed to become background noise that we just ignored. His presence absorbed every ounce of my attention and I didn't mind a bit.

We'd been lying in the bed just enjoying the aftermath of our lovemaking when a soft knock came upon the door. We both looked at the clock and realized it was almost 11am.

Edward made sure we were both modestly covered and yelled "Come in."

Esme's head popped in through the door, "are you two ever getting out of bed?"

I blushed and giggled, hiding my face in Edward's shoulder while he laughed at my silliness.

"Yeah, Mom. When did you and Dad get home? We didn't hear you come in."

"Oh, we got in about 11:30 or so. We saw you sleeping on the couch and didn't want to disturb you. Thank you both for leaving dinner for us. I'm sorry I wasn't home when you got here Edward."

"That's okay Mom. Emergencies at work happen. We just watched movies and relaxed. We'll be right down. Is anyone around?"

"Oh my yes. Alice got home late last night from her date with Jasper. She's a little cranky from lack of sleep but they're all downstairs in the family room watching movies. Jasper, Emmett and Rose showed up about an hour or so ago."

"Alright Mom. We'll be down in a bit, just want to shower and stuff before we come down."

"Okay, kids. I'll let them all know. They sent me up to ask." She said laughing. "I guess they didn't want to chance interrupting anything."

I blushed again as Esme looked at me and smiled. She shut the door and we could hear her going down the hall.

Edward turned to look at me and laughed, then winked, "Wanna save water?"

I giggled and jumped out of bed, heading to Edward's bathroom with him on my heels. We showered quickly, dressed and headed downstairs to join our friends. As we passed the kitchen, we saw that Esme had laid out a type of buffet for lunch which looked like Emmett had already dug into quite extensively. We looked at each other and veered toward the food, both of us thinking if we didn't grab it now, we wouldn't get any if Emmett grabbed seconds.

As we walked into the family room, Emmett nodded at us, his mouth full. Rose and Alice jumped up to give Edward a big hug and Jasper high fived him. They all looked at me and relaxed as I gave them a big happy smile. With Edward by my side, I didn't feel the uneasiness I'd felt all week which I knew they'd all felt too.

We sat down to see what everyone had been watching, when Esme poked her head into the room.

"So what are everyone's plans for the day? I just need to notify the security guards."

Everyone looked at Edward, "I just want to hang at home, Mom. We might order some food in so don't worry about dinner. I'll order enough for you and Dad too, Can you let the security people know that? We wouldn't want a poor delivery person having a heart attack getting frisked. If we do order, I'll also make sure to let the restaurant know about the security issues here."

"Okay son, I'll inform them of that and thanks for thinking of your Dad and I. I have to head back to the office for a few hours now. The issue from last night didn't get resolved but I should be home around 6ish. I'll call when I know for sure."

Rose, Jasper and Emmett all said they'd told their parents they'd be here until sometime in the evening. Esme nodded and left us to head to her office.

We finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen. It was the least we could do for Esme putting up with all of us hanging around the house all the time. I drew Edward aside and asked him when he wanted to talk about James. He replied that it could wait until later. We'd find a few minutes to sneak off by ourselves and I could tell him about it. For now, he wanted to just hang out and relax with our friends and family and I had to agree with him. My stress would start the minute he left to go back to school and I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible before bringing my ghosts and fears into the picture.

We spent the day watching movies, playing some board games and just chillin' out. Before we knew it, it was 5pm and Edward got a text from Esme saying that she was just wrapping up at the office and should be home in about an hour. She'd also called Carlisle and let us know he'd be home around the same time. After taking a poll on what everyone wanted to eat, we all decided to go for Chinese food. After ordering, Edward called down to the security and gave them the head's up that a delivery person would be by in about an hour.

With that done, we took out plates and cutlery for those that weren't going to use chopsticks and went back to the family room to wait. I'd decided that after dinner, I was going to tell not only Edward but Em and Jaz as well what had happened with James. After thinking about it all day, I'd decided that it wasn't fair for them to not know what they were protecting me from. I said as much to Edward as we laid out the counter for dinner.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay, after dinner then."

Dinner arrived shortly after Esme and Carlisle got home and we all converged on the dining room table after everyone had a plate full. It was a funny affair. Emmett used his chopsticks as walrus tusks at one point by sticking them up his nose which had the whole table in stitches. He was such a lovable goof.

After dinner, Edward asked everyone if they minded going to the family room, that I had something I wished to talk about with them all. Rose and Alice both caught my eye and mouthed "are you sure" to which I just nodded. They led their guys into the room and Edward and I followed. I asked Esme and Carlisle to come too as I figured they might have questions about the time I was unconscious that I wouldn't be able to answer.

The were all quiet while I explained what happened from the very beginning when I'd met James at one of their parties but I could see that Edward was having a very difficult time hearing it. Alice and Rose filled in some of the details on what they'd heard around the school that didn't directly happen to me. Carlisle took over the story once I got to the part where James literally broke into my house and attacked me. I could feel Edward tensing up as I spoke of that night; so much so that his body was literally vibrating. Jasper and Emmett just sat there stoic for the most part. Both of them had clenched jaws and fists by the time Carlisle took over and described what happened after I'd been rendered unconscious at the house.

Edward bounced up off of the couch when Carlisle started going through the injuries I'd sustained in the attack and started pacing around the room. Once Carlisle had done speaking, the room fell to silence. I could feel the rage vibrating through Edward, Emmett and Jasper: they looked like they were ready to explode.

"AND HE GOT 6 MONTHS FOR THAT!?!?" Edward shouted.

"Edward, calm down. I agree that the punishment didn't even come close to justifying what he did but there isn't anything we can do about it. The district attorney made a deal and he was given mandatory counselling as well." Carlisle tried to diffuse the tension in the room.

I got up from the couch and threw my arms around Edward. "I'm okay Edward."

I could feel his arms surround me; and he buried his face into my neck and took several deep breathes trying to calm himself. I rubbed my hands up and down his back trying to do the same thing. Eventually, he calmed down and raised his head. Sighing, he turned to his parents and gave them a small smile.

"So what are they doing now that he's contacted her with the restraining order on him?"

"They haven't been able to make a connection yet between the text message he sent on Monday morning and any cell phone connected to him. They know he's been back to Forks from the message he sent. He has obviously been close enough to see you and Bella out together or he is contact with someone in Forks that knows the two of you and is feeding him information on Bella. Charlie has contacted the police department in Port Angeles and they are keeping an eye on him there. All we can do is wait and see what happens. We've done all we can as far as security for Bella. She's safe in our home and Emmett and Jasper are there for her at school as well as the extra security that the school has hired. All the extra security guards have a picture of James which we managed to get this week through a private detective Charlie hired. We're hoping he can find out information that the police won't be able to."

Edward sighed deeply. I could tell his mind was going a mile a minute but I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Finally he responded to the information that his father had given him.

"So either he's snuck back here, or someone we all know is friendly with him and giving him information on Bella."

"That's what Charlie has surmised so far, Edward."

"Who could it be?" I asked.

"Well, this just happened recently so the only one that I know is pissed off at you and Edward would be Tanya." Jasper piped in.

Edward and I looked at each other. I gasped, he snarled. We both looked over at Jasper and said, "You don't think …. ?"

"I certainly wouldn't put it past her." Rose added. "She absolutely hates Bella since the night of the summer party when she got removed and she isn't too happy with Edward either. I guess she's the only one that's allowed to end relationships she's in."

We all discussed the possibility of Tanya and James being involved in this situation of mine until late evening. By the end of the discussion, we were pretty well convinced that it had to be Tanya supplying James with information on us. The trick would be getting proof of it.

Emmett and Jasper drove Rose home and Alice, Edward and I wandered upstairs after bidding Esme and Carlisle a good night. Once upstairs, I called Charlie's cell and said good night to him as well. I told him the theory that we'd all come up with and he promised to look into it first thing in the morning. That all done, Edward and I got ready for bed. Once we climbed into bed, he held me close like he was afraid I would disappear.

"Do you want to talk about it Edward?"

He hugged me tighter for a moment, "Not right now luv. I think I need time to sort things out. I want to just kill him for what he did to you."

I sat up and looked down at him. "You can't do that Edward. You'd just end up in jail and that would hurt your career."

"I know Bella, but I can dream about it." He said laughing. I knew he was trying to ease my mind but I still worried that he might do something stupid and get himself in trouble.

I didn't say anything more on the subject and just snuggled down in his arms again. He flipped on the stereo with the remote and we fell asleep to my CD playing. Tomorrow we would have to have a discussion on what he could and could not do.

* * *

Pssttt .. press the green link below and let me know what you think eh?

3156 words

Posted December 24, 2009


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Happy Reading everyone!**

**Wrote this while listening to Marcus Foster's CD : - ) if you haven't heard him, go check out his myspace page /marcusfoster **

**He's great!**

**

* * *

  
**

**Chapter 20**

**Edward's POV**

We'd fallen asleep to the sounds of the CD that I'd made for Bella but within a couple of hours, I was wide awake again. I laid there thinking about everything she had told us about her experience with James and everything that Dad had filled in while she'd been unconscious. The asshole was just lucky he wasn't within arm's reach at that moment because he wouldn't have been breathing for very long.

I knew in my head that I couldn't actually do anything to him or go after him but all of my instincts screamed to protect Bella and kill the prick. The fact that I hadn't wanted to talk about what I'd learned had bothered Bella, but I knew my emotions were too volatile at the time to calmly discuss what had happened. I needed time to calm myself down and react intellectually instead of instinctually.

I'd realized while listening to her, that my feelings for Bella were becoming much deeper than I would have thought they could be. I had been such an ass to her at the time of the incident and I felt so awful about it now. Knowing that her feelings for me were a big part of how she got through the trauma was deeply unsettling for me. To be that important to another person was just downright scary.

I'd gone through high school not really caring what anyone else felt or how my actions affected them and that pretty much transferred to my home life too. I mean, I cared about my sister and my parents but everyone else were just tiny blips on my radar that didn't really have anything to do with me.

I'd reacted so badly after hearing about Bella's feelings for me. It was just a crush and meant nothing as far as I had been concerned then. It was amazing how differently a person could feel after just a few short weeks.

Her actions the night of the party may have been driven by her emotions, but as far as I was concerned now, nothing better could have happened to me, even with all the possible pregnancy drama and James. Without her actions that night, I felt that I may have missed out on the best thing that could have ever happened to me.

My mind kept reeling for the next few hours. I was anxious that I would have to head back to Seattle in the afternoon. I didn't really want to leave Bella. I had to keep telling myself that it would only be a couple of months before it would be Christmas holidays and I could be with her more. I was just hoping that the situation with James could be resolved long before that. I didn't want Bella to be living in fear for months.

Realizing I wasn't going to go back to sleep anytime soon, I eased myself out of bed. Luckily Bella didn't wake up and I tucked my pillow against her. She grabbed it to her body and sighed. I headed downstairs to grab a drink and to sit in the kitchen for a bit. As I sat there thinking about everything, I heard footsteps approach me from the other side of the house. I looked up to see my Dad in the doorway.

"Would you like some company?"

"Sure, Dad. Pull up a chair. You can't sleep either?"

"I heard you come downstairs. When you didn't go up right away, I thought you might like to talk."

I shook my head. "I don't know what to do Dad. I'm so torn. I know I have to go back to Seattle but my instincts are telling me not to leave her."

"Edward, there isn't anything that you can actually **do** if you stay here. We have her safety covered with the extra security and Emmett and Jasper. She's staying here with a state of the art security system in the house. I promise, we will not let anyone get near her."

"I know Dad. In my head, I know that. But my gut is telling me something completely different. Like if I leave, something bad will happen to her. Does that make any sense?"

"Believe it or not Edward, it makes perfect sense. It's your protective instincts. You love her."

I looked at my Dad in surprise. I hadn't even thought about labelling the feelings that I had for Bella. Love? Really? It had only been a few weeks! Is this what love felt like? This ache inside when I wasn't with her? This need to protect her from everything? The way her scent and touch make me want to drop to my knees, buckling under the sheer impact of it? The way the very thought of something hurting her caused a feeling of despair?

He sat there watching me with a small smile on his face. As all the things I'd learned about Bella in the last few weeks ran through my mind, I realized that my father was absolutely right. I did love Bella. And it wasn't in a crush or puppy love type of way either. I felt this emotion to the depths of my soul. Talk about an epiphany!

I grinned at my Dad. My whole body felt alive with energy. I wanted to run upstairs and tell Bella what I was feeling.

"Uhm. Well. Goodnight Dad."

He laughed at me and watched as I practically run down the hall to the stairs. I slowed down as I approached my room. I didn't want to scare Bella by running in like the devil was on my heels.

I gently opened the door and saw that she was sitting up in the bed looking around wide eyed. As she heard the door open, she gave a squeak and whipped her head towards me. I hurried over to the bed and drew her into my arms.

"What's wrong, baby?"

I felt her shiver against me as she buried her face in my neck.

"I woke up and you weren't there. It sort of scared me a little I guess."

"Oh hun. I didn't mean to scare you. I just couldn't sleep and didn't want to disturb your rest. I ended up going down to the kitchen for a drink and ran into my Dad. We spent some time talking. I guess I didn't realize how long I'd been gone." I gathered her tighter into my embrace, rocking her gently until her body stopped shivering.

"It's okay. Just my imagination getting the better of me, I guess. I know no one can get to me here. I just feel so much safer when you're with me, Edward. When you're arms are around me, I feel like nothing could ever hurt me."

"Bella, I wish I didn't have to go back to Seattle until this thing with James was settled. I feel anxious just thinking about leaving you. If anything were to happen to you, I really don't know what I'd do. You are my life now. I love you."

I felt her go still against me; like she was holding her breath. She sighed and shifted against me, moving her mouth closer to my ear.

"I love you too Edward."

I closed my eyes as I buried my face into the crook of her neck, breathing her in. We stayed just like that for a few minutes savouring the sharing of our emotions before I gently moved her to lay down on the bed with me. I moved her to my side and gathered close; her head resting on my chest. I could feel her breathing settle to a constant pattern as she drifted off to sleep. I laid there with my eyes closed and couldn't believe how we had ended up together. I'd been such an idiot for the past couple of years. I almost blew the best thing that could happen in my life.

I finally settled down my emotions and thoughts and dozed off to sleep again, holding Bella close.

We ended up sleeping in due to the interruption of our night. By the time we got downstairs, Mom and Dad were long gone. They usually tried to take off by themselves on Sundays and had missed the last two getaways. They'd be back in time for dinner but until then, we had the house to ourselves. A note from Alice on the fridge let us know that she was off with Jasper. Mom and Dad were insisting that everyone had to let everyone know where they were going and what they were doing until the situation with James was resolved. Since James knew who Bella's friends were, he was just crazy enough to go after anyone of us to get to her.

We spent the rest of the day hiding out in the family room, listening to music and trying to avoid looking at the clock. My parents arrived back at the house at 4:30pm with take out, Jasper, Alice, Emmett and Rose pulling into the driveway right behind them. I felt Bella's body slump as she realized that my parents were home and that it meant that it was almost time for me to head back to Seattle. We'd both dreaded that time all day. The weekend never lasted long enough and the week lasted far too long.

We ate dinner with everyone and headed up to my room so I could get my stuff together. It didn't take long since I hadn't brought much with me; I'd left clothes here for when I came home to visit. The visits just happened to be more often than planned.

Bella moved into my arms as I put the last item into my duffle bag and held on tight.

"I promise to be back on Friday again. I'll make sure to get everything done throughout the week so Mom and Dad won't worry about my classes. I won't be able to stay away from you."

She looked up and gave me a sad smile. "I know. I'm just really going to miss you for the next 5 days."

"I'm going to miss you too." I pulled her close and kissed her. As soon as our lips met, I was overcome by emotion and from the tears the welled up in her eyes, I saw that she was too.

"I'll text all the time and call every night. I feel better knowing that you are in this house though and not at your father's. At least James can't get in here. I am worried about Tanya though. If she's in cahoots with James, she's getting way too far over the line between sane and crazy. I always knew she was a little off but I never imagined that she would go so far to get back at me. I'm so sorry that she is involved in this because of me. If it were just James, he wouldn't have been able to get so close to you."

Bella looked at me and sighed. "Edward, you can't blame yourself for what Tanya may have done. We don't even know for sure that she's the one helping him. My dad will know more soon. Until then, I promise I'll be very careful at school. She can't do anything to me really anyway. I mean, with the extra security and the teachers knowing everything that is going on, she'd have to be really nuts to try anything beyond what she usually does. She can say anything she wants to me. I know the truth."

I grinned at her. She was so strong most of the time, but I knew how vulnerable she could be.

"Bella. I know you can handle Tanya but you shouldn't have to. She is going after you because of me and that makes me feel bad."

"Edward, you can't control what she does, anymore than I can control what James does. And speaking of which, you be careful too. Even though you're in Seattle, it's not that far away from Port Angeles. He could find you and I don't know what he'd do if he did. He is certifiably nuts."

"Bella, I'm actually going to talk with Mom and Dad about that before I leave. The apartment that Ben, Angela and I live in has a security system, however, I'm going to see if it can be beefed up and maybe get a security guard hired. I'll foot the bill. I don't want that scumbag coming around and bothering Ben and Angela either."

"I never even thought of them being in danger from James, Edward! This thing has gotten so out of hand. Why did he have to become obsessed with me? Why did Tanya have to become so obsessed with you? What did we ever do to deserve this crap?"

"It's not my fault or your fault, Bella. It's them. Something in them is broken. We'll get through this. Your dad will find a way to get James and if Tanya is caught up in the whole mess, then that's her problem. I can't feel sorry for her. She does know the difference between right and wrong."

I gave her another deep kiss and hugged her tightly before tucking her under my arm and grabbing my bag from the bed. We walked downstairs to find my parents.

"Mom, Dad, I was wondering if you could look into maybe us hiring a security guard for the apartment in Seattle. I don't want anything to happen to Angela and Ben if James decides to pay me a visit there."

My Mom's eyes widened at the thought of James tracking me down in Seattle and my Dad laid a reassuring arm around her shoulders.

"Sure son, we can do that for you. There'll be someone posted by the end of the day tomorrow."

I gave each of them a hug and headed out to the garage with Bella tucked close to my side. After throwing my bag into the car, I turned and drew her to me; kissing her lips gently. She was having none of that, however; her hands came up to fist my hair and she pulled me into a deeper kiss. Our tongues danced around each other and I could feel my body reacting to the passion in hers. I pulled away, not really wanting to drive all the way to Seattle with a hard on. She must have realized why I was pulling away because she looked up at me through her long lashes with a small smirk on her face.

Smiling, I quickly kissed her one last time and got into the car.

She looked at me with her sad brown eyes and I almost decided right then and there to ditch school and just stay home. I knew my parents would go ballistic if I did that so I reluctantly put the car in reverse and slowly backed out into the driveway. She stood watching me as I drove away and I felt my heart wrench at the sight. As I waited for the security guard to open the gate, I dialled the house on my cell phone.

"Mom, can you please go out to Bella. She needs you."

After assuring me she would go right out to the garage, I said good bye and headed out of town. The week couldn't go by quickly enough for me. I needed Bella like I needed air to breathe.

* * *

**2699 words**

**Posted January 2, 2010**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Happy Reading everyone!**

**So, did you all give Marcus a listen to? What did ya think? LOL. Okay yeah, I love to pimp out the boys' music : - ) Every single chance I get. **

**Here's another update for all those that have read and reviewed. Thanks so much! Welcome all the new readers that alerted the story in the last few days too! **

**Music for writing this chapter included Robert Pattinson, Sam Bradley, Marcus Foster, Bobby Long, Kings of Leon, Lifehouse. **

**_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 21**

**Bella's POV**

I watched as Edward's car disappeared through the gate and down the road out of sight. A feeling of deep sadness almost overtook me. As I stood there unable to move, I felt a soft pair of arms envelope me in their embrace. I turned to find Esme holding me and my head fell to her shoulder, a sob catching in my throat.

She gently drew me towards the house and into the family room. I couldn't help the tears that seemed to just flow from my eyes as she seated us down on the couch that Edward and I had lounged on for so much of the weekend.

If felt like hours later that my tears were finally spent; I was exhausted from the expended energy. Esme grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen as I sat in the family, missing Edward more and more with every breath I took. After thanking her for the water, I wished Esme a goodnight and practically ran up to Edward's room. I could feel her eyes follow me and I knew she was worried.

Once in his room, I crawled into bed and cuddled up to the pillow he'd used all weekend, breathing in the remnants of his scent left behind. I kept playing over and over the part of the weekend where he actually said he loved me. It was a moment I wouldn't forget and hoped it would sustain me during the next five days.

That first night without him was the worst. Thankfully, my dreams were more about Edward than nightmares about James.

Jaz and Em picked Alice and I up, Rose was already in the car when they came around. We discussed the possibility that Tanya was helping James and I agreed that it was a possibility. He had hung out at the school quite a bit while he was stalking me before. He might have known who she was and her connection to Edward. I wouldn't put it past him to have researched everything he could find out about Edward and his family. This brought up whole new fears for me as I looked around the car at my closest friends. If anything was to happen to them, I don't think I could handle it.

Tanya was mysteriously absent from school when we got there. We still got evil looks from her cohorts Lauren and Jessica. I still couldn't believe that Jessica hung out with them. We had been friends before Tanya had transferred to our school. I sometimes missed our friendship.

The week went fairly smoothly, Tanya had been conspicuously missing all week which made us all a little curious as to what was going on with her. I talked to Edward every night and we texted during our lunch break. Our friends tended to laugh at me because of how unusually attached I now was to my Blackberry.

Despite my fears that James would do something, nothing happened. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. It just dragged out the fear and suspense that much longer. My dad had traced the message I got from James to a throw away cell phone so that turned out to be a dead end. Anyone could have sent the message but I knew James was behind it, no matter what he told anyone else.

Friday was upon us before I knew it and I was so excited that Edward would be home tonight. Like the week before, I hadn't slept much while he was in Seattle. I knew he was safe though. As Carlisle had promised, the apartment building Edward lived it had a security guard on duty by the time he got home from school on Monday. It was a relief to know that he had extra protection.

We had left school and were almost at the Cullen's when I noticed a strange car parked down the road from the house. As we passed, I peered through the dirty windows and saw someone scrunched down in the driver's seat. All I could see was a mop of blondish hair, and my breath caught in my throat. Alice and Rose heard me and felt my body stiffen.

"What's wrong Bella?!?"

I could barely string a coherent sentence together. "That car …… blonde … James!"

The both gasped and Emmett immediately grabbed his cell phone and discreetly dialled Charlie's direct line which automatically bumped over to his cell when he was away from the office.

"Charlie! Bella thinks she's spotted James. He's in a reddish coloured 4 door old Toyota Corona. Windows are all dirty but she swears it was him. I don't think he noticed us drive by since we're using Jaz's dad's car today. His had to go in for servicing. The car is sitting about 5 minutes or so down the road from the Cullen's."

He nodded into the phone, then blushed as he realized Charlie couldn't really see him. We knew he did it on purpose to relieve some of the tension in the car because we all laughed at him.

"Yeah. We're heading towards the Cullen's house. We should be there in about 5 minutes. We'll see you there."

I relaxed a little knowing my dad was on the way. Looking quickly at my Blackberry, I realized that Edward would already be on his way to Forks and I really didn't want to give him the news on James while he was driving. I figured when he got home was soon enough. Checking my messages, I saw a text from him letting me know he was on the way and would be home around 5ish like last weekend.

We pulled through the gates at the house and Jaz parked close to the doors. Em got out first and ushered us girls in. Esme rushed up to us as we entered the door and enveloped us all into her arms.

"I'm so glad you're here. Charlie called and let me know what you saw Bella. Edward's already on his way. I'm sure you already got his message?"

I nodded at her as she got us to all go into the kitchen. It was the only room with very few windows in it. Apparently it was Charlie's orders to keep me away from any window in the house. I was starting to get a little scared by the precautions that he was setting up for me. Did he think James had a gun or something?

Half an hour later, my dad came through the door.

"It wasn't James. It was some kid who was given $50 to drive his car to that location at 3pm and sit there for an hour."

I gasped. What. The. Fuck. What was James playing at now?

I really don't know why I was so surprised. The guy was certifiably nuts.

"We got a description of the man that paid the kid and it does sound like James. Unfortunately, he hasn't broken the protection order since he hasn't been anywhere close to Bella. Once again, he has managed to do something without actually being directly involved."

I was starting to get really pissed off. I had practically lived in fear for the past 2 weeks whenever Edward wasn't home as well as being pretty much under house arrest. What right did James have to do this to me? Not that I didn't enjoy spending all this time with Rose, Alice and the guys or sleeping in Edward's room. But I missed my room sometimes and I actually missed being around Charlie more. It just wasn't enough to only see him when he had time to stop by the Cullen's house.

The anger started to burn deep down in my gut. The fire was so strong, I really wanted to hit something or someone. Preferably James or the little nob he had working for him in Forks. Everyone was right. There was no way that James was doing this by himself. His picture was posted all over Forks as "someone of interest" so he wouldn't dare show up here. There had to be someone in town doing his dirty work for him. Tanya's absence all week had really bothered me. I hated waiting for the other shoe to drop. Not to say her cohort Lauren didn't put her two cents into everything that we said or did while at school this week. She didn't come up with anything original though. Just the same old crap her and Tanya usually spew to people they don't like. You'd think at their age they'd fucking grow up or at least come up with something new.

The more that I sat there and listened to Charlie run through everything that they'd found out through the investigation so far, the more angry I was getting. By the time he finished I was almost shaking with fury. Everyone who knew me was well aware of my temper, especially those that had grown up with me. Although since this issue with James, I'd been so low key and almost timid around others that they may have thought I'd grown out of it. But whatever had kept my temper dampened for so long was obviously not working anymore. I was so involved in holding my anger in that I wasn't aware that everyone had stopped talking and was looking at me. A noise behind me had my head whipping around, startled. I'd been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't even heard the front door open.

I could feel the tension flow out of my body as my eyes met Edward's sparking green ones. How could just seeing him give me such a sense of peace? He was leaning against the door jam smiling my favourite crooked smile and I could feel my knees go weak even though I was sitting down. His smile could melt me into a little pile of goo in a second.

"What are you all discussing?" he asked, keeping his eyes locked to mine as he started to walk towards me.

I lowered my eyes to my hands, not wanting him to see the residual anger I was suppressing. He'd never really seen me angry while we grew up. He'd always kept away from Alice and I, as if having anything to do with his young sister and her friend was something so abhorrent. Of course, I now knew that it had been jealousy that had steered his actions then. But to us, he was just being a mean jerk. Alice had seen my temper too many times to count and although it had never ever been directed at her, she knew to stay away when I lost it.

Edward looked around to our parents and the others in the room with a questioning look.

"Okay everyone, what happened? It's not everyday I come home to the Chief of Police in the house and everyone looking like someone ran over the cat. They didn't. Did they?"

There was a low muffled laugh from Emmett who was trying hard to keep from seeing the hilarity of the situation which, unfortunately, he did at every single opportunity that he could. That boy's sense of humour was inappropriate at the best of times.

I knew someone was going to have to tell Edward the latest thing that James had cooked up and I knew he was going to be pissed about it. In getting to know him more over the last few weeks, I was also aware he would feel guilty about not being here with me.

I looked over to my dad as Edward sat down beside me and took my hand. He must have gotten the feeling that I'd rather that he be the one to explain to Edward what had transpired in the last couple of hours. He went through the facts of the situation in a very matter of fact way but I could feel the tension get stronger and stronger in Edward's body; the anger coiling through him like a viper preparing to strike.

I reached my hand up to his shoulder and moved it slowly down his back, "I'm okay Edward. I wasn't even anywhere near this person. It was just James trying to psyche me out."

He leaned back against my hand as it moved in circles over his back and sighed. "I know Bella. I just hate that this guy is getting away with pretty much terrorizing you without any consequences."

"Now wait just a minute there, son," Charlie cut in. "He isn't going to get away with anything. I will catch the little bastard. His luck will run out and I'll be there."

The discussion wrapped up with no solutions thought of. We would all just have to work within the law and be extremely careful wherever we went until James finally screwed up and gave himself away. This didn't appease me whatsoever. The anger I'd felt before I'd seen Edward standing in the doorway was still brewing under the surface and I was terrified that he wouldn't like me if it exploded. Some people just couldn't deal with anger and mine was not something I could always control when I was younger. Charlie had at one time considered sending me to a counsellor specializing in situations like mine. After the incident with James, my anger hadn't been an issue but now the feelings were returning.

I walked my dad to the door and stepped outside with him.

"Dad, you know before the incident with James when I couldn't control my anger very well."

"Yes Bella. I couldn't forget those years if I wanted to." He laughed softly and gave me a wink. "We went through a lot of dishes, if I remember right."

I gave him a half hearted smile. Yeah, I'd broken a lot of things in the house back then.

"Well, the more I've thought of James today, the more I feel my anger getting stronger and stronger. The only time it started to settle down a little bit was when Edward arrived, but I really feel like I'm going to explode any moment. It frightens me and I don't want to take it out on him. I don't think he's aware about how bad it was before James attacked me."

Charlie looked at me thoughtfully. "Maybe you should just talk to Edward about it, Bella. I'm sure Alice would be there for you if you don't want to broach the subject alone."

Even though I knew that he'd probably tell me to just talk to Edward, I couldn't help but wish he'd come up with some different idea. Sighing, I gave him a quick hug and let him head home. I knew he'd be just doing a quick dinner and heading back to the station and I felt bad that I couldn't be home with him. I missed him.

Turning back into the house, I headed to the family room where I knew Edward was. Upon reaching his side, I slipped my hand into his and looked up into his eyes. He smiled down at me and I almost lost the courage to talk to him. I didn't want to reveal my shortcomings to this amazing guy that was looking at me like the sun rose and set with me. I gritted my teeth and straightened my spine. I could do this.

"Can I talk to you privately, Edward?"

"Sure, luv. How about we go upstairs?"

I nodded and still holding his hand, headed towards the stairs.

* * *

**Bella's a little self conscious about how uncontrollable her temper used to be and is afraid it's going to go back to that again. What will Edward say?**

**Pssttt .. press the green link below and let me know what you think eh?**

**2811 words**

**Posted January 11, 2010**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

* * *

**Happy Reading everyone!**

**Music for writing this chapter included Nickelback, Robert Pattinson, Lifehouse, Sam Bradley, Marcus Foster and Bobby Long. (you may notice a pattern in my music LOL)  
**

**I apologize for the long time between updates but last Saturday (Jan 16****th****) I acquired an abscess in one of my teeth and have been in excruciating pain all week. But YAY I got one done so enjoy : - )**

**Welcome all new readers, please feel free to say Hi with a review and let me know what you think. 'kay? **

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**Edward's POV**

Bella led the way upstairs and I could tell she wanted to have a serious conversation with me. I had no idea what about but it couldn't have anything to do with James since everything had pretty much been discussed downstairs with the family.

She kept licking and biting her lower lip in a nervous gesture. I watched her, wishing she would stop. My body reacted instantaneously when she did that. I reined in my thoughts with difficulty. Obviously there was something really bothering Bella and I had to concentrate on that.

We reached the door to my room and she led the way inside. She seemed to get more and more nervous and I reached out to take her shoulders, rubbing up and down her arms in a comforting way.

"What is it Bella? After everything that's gone on between us and around us, nothing could be as bad as you think it is."

She bit her lip again and I had to stifle a groan. I really had to talk to her about that. She looked up at me through her long brown lashes and opened her mouth as if to speak at the precise moment that there was a knock at my door.

"Whomever it is. Go away! We're busy!"

No sooner were the words out of my mouth then Bella was heading to the door, opening it to reveal my giggling pixie sister on the other side. She stepped in and gave Bella a hug. Whispering something in her ear that caused Bella to take a deep breath and hug her back. Alice gave me an impish smile then bounced back out the door.

I stood there with what must have been the most puzzled look on my face because as Bella turned back to me, she smiled apologetically and gestured for me to sit.

I sat, waiting patiently for whatever she felt the need to tell me. Obviously it was something that was really stressing her out. She did, however, appear more settled or maybe resolved would be the better word to reveal what it was.

"Bella, you can tell me anything. I love you."

She took a breath and turned to look at me. "Edward. I don't like to talk about this but .. " She started, looking away from me again.

"It's okay, luv. Please just tell me."

"Well, I .. uhm .. I .." She stuttered. "I have what you would call an anger management problem, at least that is what the counsellors called it, and I'm afraid you won't like me anymore if you see it."

She said the last part in such a rush that I had to repeat her words in my head before I understood what she said.

I almost laughed. Had she forgotten MY temper? She must have. Although I hadn't spent a lot of time near Bella and Alice, I couldn't believe that she hadn't seen one of my memorable temper tantrums while growing up. I bit back my reply, realizing that she was actually quite serious about being afraid that I really wouldn't want anything to do with her if she lost her temper.

I also knew what it was like to be around someone with an anger issue. I was surprised that Alice hadn't talked about Esme's brother Tom. Uncle Tom was never allowed to be with us alone because of his short fuse. Unfortunately, accidently we'd been left with him by a babysitter and Alice had done something that pissed him off. It wasn't a pretty sight. At least he had never struck out physically at us kids, just broke a bunch of things in the house and screamed at us. It had terrified Alice so much that she hadn't gone near Uncle Tom for a long while after that incident.

Bella came up close to me and I gently grasped her hand in mine.

"Bella, its okay. I have a temper myself and Alice and I have both had to deal with Uncle Tom, so it's not something that I haven't been around."

"Uhm, Uncle Tom?"

"Alice never told you about him? Well, I guess I'm not really surprised. She isn't really comfortable discussing him at all. I think that she's still a little afraid of him."

"Oh! Alice has mentioned that she had an uncle she didn't like to have much to do with but I didn't make her tell me anything since it obviously made her uncomfortable."

"Yeah, there was an incident when we were really little that really scared her. She doesn't like to remember that. Anyway, he would break things and scream and yell. It was really quite terrifying to us. I honestly don't think that you could be as bad as he is, Bella."

She muttered something under her breath that I couldn't quite hear.

"What was that Bella? I couldn't hear you."

She gave a dry laugh and repeated what she'd said. "I wouldn't be too sure that I couldn't be worse that your Uncle Tom. Just ask Charlie how many dishes he's bought for the house"

"Bella, nothing you could ever do could make me not love you. I mean, geez, if you could still love me after the way I treated you, how could I not? I was a prick to you and yet here you are with me. I definitely don't deserve you."

She smiled tentatively at me and I held out my arms to her. She rushed over to me and I pulled her close. Resting my chin on the top of her head, I rocked her back and forth. I could feel her body actually shaking from the nervousness she had felt in broaching the subject with me.

I gently moved us over to the bed and manoeuvred us down onto it. I cuddled her close and felt her start to relax.

"So what did Alice say to you?" I asked her quietly.

She giggled for a moment and tried to bury her face in my neck. I reached up and brought her mouth closer to mine to kiss her deeply, "Come on, tell me."

She sighed. "She just said that I had to remember that you'd been such a prick to me for so long that you'd better be okay with what I had to say. You two think a lot alike."

"Yeah. We do." I chuckled myself, thinking about how many times over the years that Alice and I just seemed to be completely in sync with each other. I'm almost positive that no one on earth had a better sister than I did.

"She's my best friend you know, along with Rose. I don't think I'd have gotten through what James did to me if it weren't for Rose and Alice. I was such a mess. I was so afraid to do anything by myself. I was afraid to even be home. I kept thinking he was going to come back and finish what he started. It was ridiculous, I know, since he was in jail for a while, but my mind kept going back to that night. I had to sleep with the light on for a long time. I was so grateful that Alice or Rose would stay with me or I would stay with them. They put up with a lot of nights where they got very little sleep in the first few months after he attacked me."

I felt her shudder in my arms as she talked. My arms tightened around her as if to banish the thoughts of that time away from her mind and give her the comfort I was unable to all that time ago. I felt really guilty about how I was back then. If only I hadn't been so self-absorbed, I would have seen that something had been going on then. I had noticed that Alice had been gone from the house more often for awhile and then Bella was spending a lot of nights at our house.

I grazed my lips along her forehead and rubbed my hand up and down her back comfortingly. Laying there staring at the ceiling, I tried to come up with the words to let her know how I bad I felt over my actions towards her while we were growing up.

"Bella."

"Hmmmm ?"

"I hope you know how badly I feel about my actions when you were going through the aftermath of what James did to you. I acted like a self-absorbed moronic asshole and I intend to make it up to you. I **will** make sure that James doesn't get within 50 feet of you! I swear it!"

I closed my eyes against the anguish that rose up inside me as a picture of James attacking Bella came to my mind. I didn't understand why she had picked me to be her first after the trauma that she had gone through 2 years ago and my behaviour towards her but I would be forever grateful for whatever propelled her to do it.

I almost lost out on the best thing to ever happen to me because of my jealousy over her relationship with Alice. I shook my head, I was such an idiot. I'd like to think I'd grown up some in the last few weeks and Bella was a huge part of it. The situation with James was something I'd never had to deal with before. I was sure that Bella had much more exposure to situations like this. Well, not literally but through stories from her Dad, I'm sure.

Bella sat up and looked down at me with a serious expression on her face.

"Edward. Stop it. Yes you were an ass. You explained you're feelings and why you acted that way. I've forgiven you. Let it go, stop beating yourself up over it. I've loved you for a while now. I've hated you at times but I never stopped loving you during that time. We have more important things to worry about right now. James is out there somewhere, playing games and using others to try and get to me. I'm getting really angry about the whole situation and I really need you to just be there for me right now. Let's put the past aside and if you still want to do penance after this situation is over with, we'll talk about it then."

She leaned down and kissed me before lying back down with her head on my shoulder and her arm across me, snuggling close. Shaking me head, I smiled to myself. I had one feisty girlfriend that was certainly going to call me on my bullshit.

"Yes ma'am."

She giggled and sighed.

"This is driving me crazy, Edward. I can't go on like this. I can't keep living my life looking over my shoulder and waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's interfering with my family and my friends' lives too. Emmett and Jasper are being so great but I know it must be wearing on them. I feel like I have to do something."

"No!" she jumped as I practically yelled at her. "You **will **do nothing. You'll let your Dad and the security people deal with this. Emmett and Jasper don't mind helping you at all. They love you. We're all family, Bella. It's what one does for family. I better not hear that you've taken any chances while I'm not here. I can't lose you and James is not all there in the head. He could do anything and you've already had a small taste of what he is capable of Bella. Please tell me that you won't do anything to put yourself in harm's way!"

My body trembled at the very thought of something else happening to her. Every single time I come home to hear something else has happened, my heart drops. How were we going to get this crazy person out of our lives? I was planning on talking with Emmett and Jasper about it this weekend. We had to do something to keep the girls safe. I knew James was fixated on Bella but who's to say that he wouldn't go after Rose or Alice if they were with her when he made his move. I was all about following the law after the incident with Tanya's cousin but there had to be something that we could do to draw him out and get this over with. Bella was getting more and more stressed over this. I could tell every Friday I came home.

I sighed and hugged Bella closely, closing my eyes and turning my thoughts to the two of us. I wasn't going to let that asshole intrude anymore in this time we had together tonight. He'd already done enough today.

Lying there listening to Bella's slow, easy breathing, I realized she had fallen asleep and I let myself drift off with her. The week had been long and stressful between dealing with classes and being away from her. Keeping in touch with phone calls, emails and text messages just wasn't the same as having her in my arms, knowing she was safe and sound.

We must have slept for a while because the next thing I heard was knocking on the door and Alice's voice yelling to get our asses up so we can all eat dinner. I guess everyone had had some downtime when we came upstairs to talk and Dad had ordered in from a local restaurant we frequently went to for special meals. It was handy have such a well known father.

I roused Bella gently, kissing her awake. As I felt her start to stir, I told Alice we'd be down in a few minutes. I listened for her footsteps to fade away before kissing Bella with a bit more purpose. As she started to respond, I drew away with a smile.

"Come on, luv. Dinner has arrived downstairs. Everyone is waiting for us."

She moaned and grumbled but sat up sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She looked so freaking adorable, I could barely stand it. I was almost tempted to say fuck dinner and just keep her here in my bed and show her just how much she meant to me. I groaned and forced myself to get up and head to the bathroom. By the time I came back out, Bella was sitting at the end of the bed waiting for me. She smiled as I approached her and I held out my hand to help her up, wrapping my arm around her waist as she came to stand by my side.

Dinner actually was quite a relaxed event in spite of the events of the day. Charlie had stuck around and we all ended up in the family room enjoying each other's company until the wee hours of the morning. It was actually nice to just have a night with all of us together, one big happy family. We made plans for the next day before everyone headed off to our respective rooms and Charlie headed home. I felt more content than I had a right to and I knew it.

We had been in bed for about an hour when suddenly the screeching of the perimeter alarm went off and I sat up in bed to the sounds of yelling and shouting outside of the house.

What the fuck?!?

* * *

**2681 words**

**Posted January 21, 2010**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.**

**Happy Reading everyone!**

**Thanks for your patience in waiting for the next chapter. I can't wait to see what you all think of the rest of the story. **

**Welcome to all the new readers out there. I apologize for not answering all the new reviews from the last chapter. I ended up with an abscessed tooth and then a very bad allergic reaction to the antibiotics they gave me. Ended up having the tooth pulled too. It has been such a fun two weeks LOL **

**Anyway, enough of my rambling. On with the story! **

**______________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

**Chapter 23**

**Bella's POV**

I felt better after telling Edward about my anger issues. It was like a load had been lifted from my shoulders. He knew about my explosive temper, indicated that he even had one of his own, and was not repelled by it. He was even happy that I'd felt comfortable enough to share this part of myself with him. I don't think my feelings for him could run any deeper than they did right now.

We had a nice dinner and spent some time with the whole family, including my dad. It was great to forget about the threat of James for a few hours and just spend time with each other.

Edward and I headed up to our room, funny how quickly I started to refer to it as ours, after saying good night to my father. I loved that he was here right now. I could climb into bed with him and fall asleep wrapped in his arms. Forgetting about all the fear and anger this week had culminated in. I was so tired of feeling helpless against the existing threat that was James. When he had attacked me those years ago and went to jail, I thought that it would end there. But I guess an obsessed mind just doesn't know when to let go of the fantasy.

I didn't know how long we slept before I felt Edward's body shoot up in bed and the sound of the alarm ringing through the house.

"Stay here Bella!" he yelled as he jumped out of bed, grabbing his sweat pants and hopping to the door as he put them on. As he opened the door, I could see Alice in the hallway, her eyes widened in fright.

I whipped the covers off and grabbed the robe next to the bed. Running to the door, I grabbed her into my arms just as Edward swung her into our room as he turned and headed towards the stairway.

I could hear Carlisle's voice from downstairs yelling something back up to Edward and suddenly, he reappeared at the doorway of our room.

"Quick you two! Come with me. Alice, take Bella and head to our panic room. I'll be right behind you."

Alice grabbed my hand and headed to the door, turning in the opposite direction of the stairs. I could feel Edward right behind me. Alice came up to a portion of the wall just past all the bedrooms and hit something in the facia board. A door popped open and I almost felt like I was in a science fiction movie. The door swung slowly open and inside was a room that was set up like a separate living space, including beds, fridge, microwave and everything else one could think of. Edward ushered us in and closed the door behind us. It clicked ominously and there was silence. I could only hear the sounds of our breathing.

Edward turned to me and grabbed me into his arms; I circled mine around his waist and held on tightly. He moved us over to the couch and sat us down.

"Mom and dad are in their own panic room. The police are on the way."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a ringing sound came from the other side of the room causing us all to jump. We laughed with relief realizing it was the phone connected to the other panic room.

Alice was closer so she grabbed the phone and sighed as she heard her parents' voices on the other end.

"Mom, Dad! I'm so glad it's you! All three of us are here. I'm just glad everyone else decided to go home. Okay, let us know when to come out."

She hung up the phone and turned to us. "Mom will call when the coast is clear. We're to hang tight here until then."

"Did they say what is happening?" Edward asked.

"Nope. Just told me we are to stay put until they call. They'll let us know then."

It seemed like forever before the phone rang again. Edward got up to answer it this time.

"Oh, hey Dad. Is it done? Can we come out? Okay, see you in a few."

He turned back to us and smiled. Heading over to the panel at the side of the door, he punched in a code and the door swung back open. I was sitting on the couch where he'd left me, my heart still racing a mile a minute; when I felt his hand running through my hair and the weight of his body sit down beside me. Feeling his arms draw me into his body, I let myself melt into his embrace

"You okay?"

I shook my head. I wasn't quite sure. My mind was whirling at the speed of everything that had happened since I'd put my head down on the pillow and dozed off to sleep. Was this real or was it a nightmare? I reached up with my hand to caress the side of Edward's face, feeling the scruffiness of his jaw.

This wasn't a dream.

It wasn't a nightmare.

It was my reality until James was caught.

I felt Edward's lips on my cheek and the scruff of his beard against my chin. I smiled as my eyes met his worried ones.

"I'm okay. It just feels like this nightmare will never end."

"It will, honey. It will."

He stood up and reached down to help me to my feet. He was ever the gentleman. We headed downstairs to where his parents were waiting. Alice was already there, huddled in the arms of her father, her mother gently rubbing her back. The all turned towards us as we walked into the room. Esme held out her arms to me which I gratefully went into. At times like this, I really missed the touch of my mom.

Edward came up behind me and put his arms around both of us and a collective sigh was heard throughout the room.

"What happened?" Edward finally asked.

"We aren't exactly sure yet." His father replied. "We're still waiting for a full report."

Carlisle waved us into the family room while we waiting for the police to knock on the door. It was only a few minutes before we heard it and Carlisle got up to let the officer in, which just happened to be my dad.

As soon as he rounded the corner, I was up off the couch and in his arms. He hugged me fiercely and kissed the top of my head.

"Its okay, baby. It wasn't James."

I sighed heavily into my father's chest. "I almost wish it was so this could just be over and done with." I mumbled

"I know Bella, I know. It was however someone that was paid to try and breach the house's alarm system and we are quite sure it was James that paid him. He's getting a little lax in his scheming because the guy we have in custody has described the person that hired him. It matches James. If he is willing to testify, I think we now have him right where we want him."

By the time he had given us all the details of the events of the evening, it was 5am and we were all exhausted. Esme assured us all that no one would wake us up and to sleep as long as possible tomorrow. We hadn't made plans for Saturday anyway so we were planning on letting nature wake us when we were ready. Edward and I trudged upstairs as Alice stopped to leave Jasper a voicemail to let him know she wouldn't be calling until later in the day. We literally fell into an exhausted sleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows. It was the best sleep I'd had in a while. Exhaustion seems to do that to a person. No dreams, just deep, peaceful sleep.

True to their word, no one disturbed us for the whole day. We woke up off and on throughout the day, spending that time cuddling and talking. Falling back into a easy sleep in each others arms. At 4pm, we finally decided to return to the world of the living and after sharing a lengthy shower, we headed downstairs to find the crew all setup in the family room. They looked up with big smiles and knowing looks. I blushed as I usually do when faced with them knowing what Edward and I do when alone. I wished it was something I could turn off, especially since Emmett seemed to like to use it for his own entertainment.

"Hey you two! We were beginning to think you were never going to come up for air!"

I blushed as he burst out laughing at me. Edward just glared at him as I hid my face in his shoulder.

Rose hit Emmett up the back of his head which shut him up quickly. Giving me a look apologizing for his bad taste, she got up and gave me a hug.

"Alice filled us in on the fun and games from last night. Are you okay?"

I nodded at her, "yeah, I'm fine. At least we got good news on the guy that Dad caught. It might be all over soon if they can get this guy to testify against James."

"That is good news! Alice didn't tell us. Let's hope this douche bag does give it up against James. It's about time something goes right for you in this."

I walked over to the couch that Edward had ensconced himself on and sank down into his arms. I instantly felt safe as soon as his arms were around me.

"Edward, Mom ordered take out for 6pm before her and Dad had to go out to some stupid function or other for her work. It's already paid for so we just have to wait for security to let us know its here. Dad put more guys on duty for evenings and nights until this is over. They should be home around 11pm. There, all messages have been relayed!" She sank down on top of Jasper as he lay on the other couch. Rose draped herself over Emmett as he sprawled out on the huge armchair and we all just sat there for a few minutes.

We must have all dozed off because the next we knew, the sound of the front doorbell was ringing throughout the house. Alice jumped up, heading to the door and Jasper was right behind her. A few minutes later, she yelled from the kitchen that dinner was there and we all headed out to eat. As I caught the whiff of the food coming from the packages sitting on the kitchen counter, my stomach started to rumble. Edward must have heard it as he walked beside me because he reached over and rubbed it.

"A little hungry?" He said with a laugh.

I blushed, of course.

By mutual unspoken decision, we didn't mention James for the rest of the night. After eating, we all headed back into the family room and played a few games of pool. Edward finally got tired of pool and sat down at the piano, playing my song. I sat next to him on the bench, my head on his shoulder, soaking in the wonderful sounds that seemed to come from his angelic touch on the ivory keys. I still couldn't believe how he made the instrument sing to every whim of his long fingers. I blushed as my mind wandered to what else those fingers could do.

He happened to be glancing at me as I blushed and smiled knowingly, like he could read my mind. Looking over at the clock on the wall, I realized it was almost 11pm which meant that the Cullens would be home soon.

I glanced around and saw that everyone was sacked out on the various couches, snuggled up together.

"What do you want to do tomorrow? I'm so sick of being stuck inside. What do you think; would your parents and my dad let us out to do something tomorrow?"

"What did you have in mind? They should be home any minute and it doesn't hurt to ask them."

"I'm not sure. Something away from the house? Something fun?"

"Well, Port Angeles is out of the question. I'm not sure if they'd let us go all the way to Seattle. Let me see if I can think of something."

"Hey Edward, I heard in town today that the La Push kids were having some sort of get together on the beach tomorrow. Everyone is welcome and it's an all afternoon / evening type of thing. Bonfire, music, food. It's all going to be there."

"I don't know Jasper. I don't think Charlie will go along with it. Too unsecure."

Just then, we heard the front door open and a few moments later, Esme and Carlisle were entering the room. They gave everyone a quick hug and kiss before starting to head out of the room.

"Dad, can I have a moment?" Edward asked.

"Sure son. Just let me get changed out of this monkey suit and I'll meet you in my study."

Edward gave me a quick hug and whispered that he'd see if his father could come up with some ideas for tomorrow. I hugged him back, grateful that he was willing to pursue this. I was just so tired of having to stay inside the house on the weekends because of James. I needed to get out of here before I went out of my mind.

We decided to throw in a DVD while we waited for Edward to talk to his dad. Some romantic comedy but I wasn't really paying that much attention to. I just sat there watching the doorway for Edward to return.

The movie was almost over by the time he returned, with a big grin on his face.

"Hey guys! Dad called Charlie and they both agreed that we could go to Seattle. We can crash at my apartment tomorrow night! Don't worry, Dad called everyone's parents and they all agreed we should get away from here for a couple of days."

Alice started bouncing, earning a grimace from Jasper considering where she was perched at the moment. He gripped her waist and moved her off to the side of him onto the couch, causing her to give him a sheepish grin. He grinned back and kissed her nose, showing all was forgiven.

"We just have to be careful where we go but as long as we all stick together we should be fine."

We sat around for about an hour, huddled around Alice's laptop scouring the City of Seattle website for stuff to do tomorrow and the next day since we were allowed to spend the night. Edward only had a couple of classes that he would have to attend in the morning and we were just going to hang in the apartment while he was doing that.

After finalizing a course of action, we all said goodnight to each other and headed upstairs. Jasper, Emmett and Rose would be staying the night so we could head out first thing in the morning.

It was a relief to have the day over and to be back in Edward's arms, just the two of us. I was already in bed when he came out of the bathroom and I sighed as I felt him undress and crawl into bed behind me. He snuggled up against my back and pulled me close. I closed my eyes and felt his lips on the side of my neck, his hand moving caressingly through my hair. I turned my head towards him and our lips met. It was a deep, warm loving kiss and it felt wonderful. I turned back, nuzzling my head back into my pillow and caressed his hand that lay flat against my stomach. Touching each finger individually, enjoying the feeling of my fingertips against his skin.

I felt his lips moving through my hair as he whispered my name. That night, Edward made the sweetest love possible to me. It was a night I will never forget.

We woke up wrapped in each other's arms to the sound of Alice banging on the door and squealing at us to get a move on. I smiled at her antics. It was so nice to see her excited about something again. She'd been so reserved since all this crap with James started up again.

Edward stretched behind me and I rolled over to kiss him good morning. Fuck morning breath, I had to thank him for last night and I did just that. We almost had a replay, if not for another bang on the door. This time it was Jasper pleading with us to get up and save him from the whirlwind pixie.

I laughed at him and rolled away from Edward, to his disgust. Getting up, I streaked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. I'd just grabbed the body wash when I felt Edward enter the shower behind me. Smiling, I handed him the bottle and let him proceed. A little shower sex wouldn't delay us too long now would it?

We finally emerged from the bedroom to the delight of all. Alice was running up and down the hall, trying to make sure that she had everything she needed for being away from the house and her closet. How that girl survived going to school, I didn't know. She packed enough for me to take a two week vacation and she was only going to Seattle for 2 days.

We finally hit the road, taking Emmett's car as well so Edward didn't have to drive back to Forks on Monday night. I rode with him and the rest piled into Emmett's car with all of the luggage. I was excited to be seeing the apartment and meeting Ben and Angela who had become such good friends with Edward. I know that Angela had helped him a lot at the beginning of our relationship when he'd first moved to Seattle and I would be forever grateful for what she did. I planned on telling her so at the first opportunity.

* * *

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. This chapter was a little longer than usual but it just kept flowing so I went with it.

The adventures in Seattle will be in Edward's POV.

Updates will be as often as I can but the "boss" has decided that we aren't allowed to use our laptops while working now or even have net access at all so I will have to write in the evening when home and upload either right before my shift starts or after it ends. I will get updates posted as quickly as possible after they are written. I am aiming for postings on Mondays and Fridays.

Pssttt .. press the green link below and let me know what you think eh?

3232 words

Posted February 1, 2010


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friends's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.

* * *

**Happy Reading everyone! Thanks for following the story!**

* * *

Chapter 24

**Edward's POV**

It felt good to be heading back to Seattle with Bella by my side and our friends along as well. I was hoping these two days away from Forks would give Bella the time away from the stress of the situation that she desperately needed.

The scare we'd had with the alarm going off was about all I could take and I needed to get both of us away from it. That asshole was using people to get to Bella; to make her afraid of everything. The psychological terror he was trying to inflict on her was beyond sick. This guy belonged locked away from society. I knew he was getting angry that he couldn't get to her. I could feel it. This was one of the reasons that I insisted we had to get away from there. I was just glad that Charlie and my parents agreed with me.

I hoped that Charlie was right and the guy he caught at the house would roll over on James. He must have really lost it to actually let one of his hired people actually see him. It was a slip I knew we had to take advantage of. His spies will tell him that we had left the house but he wouldn't know where we went. He would probably guess. I knew he was aware of my place in Seattle but hoped that we had some time before he figured out a way to get to her there. I was also hoping that we would have some good news when we got home, like him having been arrested already.

I glanced over at Bella to see she was watching me. I grinned and she smiled back, reaching out to caress the side of my face. Instinctually, my head leaned harder against her hand and I kissed her palm as I turned towards her. It still amazed me how fast our relationship developed as soon as we, or rather I, stopped fighting my feelings for her. She turned in her seat to wave out the back window at the rest of the gang, which they all returned with great enthusiasm. It had been hard on all of us to be so restricted in our movements because of that lunatic. She turned back to me, smiling happily. I could see that most of the stress had been lifted from her just by getting out of Forks.

I indicated towards the I-Pod in its dock, "why don't you find something on there to listen to?"

She scrolled through my music and realised that the CD I'd made for her was all on it. She set up a play list and leaned back against the seat, closing her eyes and sighing.

My hand reached over and grasped hers and she smiled. We were silent the rest of the way to Seattle, just enjoying each other's company.

Upon arriving at the apartment, I realised that neither Angela nor I had gone shopping for groceries in the past week. The cupboards were pretty much bare. I hopped on my laptop and accessed my account with the local grocery store, ordering enough food for everyone for the next couple of days plus enough for the rest of the month as well. We all settled into the living room with the Wii while we waited for everything to be delivered.

Once the groceries arrived, Bella and I made breakfast for the rest of the group and we settled down around the table to eat and discuss where we were going to start our adventure. We had gone through the Seattle websites the night before, each one of us picking a place we'd like to see.

Emmett chose the zoo. No surprise there. He loved to tease all the animals until he got caught and tossed out on his ear. It happened every single time that we'd gone.

Rosalie chose The Museum of Flight. Not that anyone was surprised. If it was mechanical, Rose was interested in checking it out. If there'd been some sort of Car museum around, we'd have been going there for certain.

Jasper chose the Klondike Gold Rush Museum because of his fascination with history. I had to admit his knowledge of the history of the South and other areas was very deep. He could teach the subject if he wanted to. I wondered if that was the direction that his career would end up going.

Alice of course chose shopping so we'd be starting at the Pike Place Market for some local flavour and then head out to the various malls. Bella had the idea of giving her a time limit so she had to plan carefully. Bella knew my sister so well. I laughed to myself when I remembered Alice's reaction to her time limit. She hadn't been happy about having her shopping time restricted.

Given my love of music, I chose the EMP / Science Fiction Museum. We could pretend to be rock stars and check out all the exhibits. My idea of a rockin' time.

Finally, after much debate and decision making, Bella had decided on the Aquarium.

We had the rest of Sunday and most of Monday to try and get through everything we all wanted to do but knew we might not get to it all. We made plans to come back and do whatever we didn't get to next weekend anyway. I almost wished that we could all just ditch school and hang out in Seattle until James was caught and out of all of our lives. I don't feel right when Bella isn't with me. It feels like a part of me is missing and I fear for her safety when I'm not right at her side. I was starting to sound obsessed with her. I shook my head. I didn't want to start sounding like a stalker like James, I just couldn't seem to help the feelings that were evolving inside me.

We let the girls choose first and they decided on the Zoo. I guess they figured we wouldn't be there for very long once Emmett got into his groove and started bothering the animals. We arrived just before lunch and wandered around checking out the various animals. The big cats were my favourite, while Bella seemed drawn to the wolves for some reason. She seemed to stand there forever watching the pups play with the parents with the oddest look on her face. Emmett was actually on his best behaviour, to my surprise. Although that might have something to do with Rose keeping a close watch on him and cuffing him upside the head as soon as it appeared he was going to act like an idiot. She told him she wanted to bring their kids here some day and if he got them banned, he wold be very sorry. I laughed when I saw the look on Emmett's face when Rose mentioned kids. I guess he hadn't been in on the plan until then. We stopped for lunch at the food court and finished the day by checking out the grizzly bears. Emmett seemed so fascinated by them that Rose had to literally grab ahold of his ear and drag him away. It was almost like he wanted to jump into their area and fight them or some stupid thing. Of course, if he'd been drunk, he probably would have done just that.

We headed over to Rose's choice next, The Museum of Flight. We wondered through the place following Rose as she told us the history about every plane in the place. I learned that she had been taking flying lessons for a few years now and was quite the pilot. She was in heaven when we came upon a plane built by the Wright Brothers. We all laughed with her over her excitement about everything. It felt so good to let loose and just relax with friends. Glancing over at Bella, I saw she was smiling and laughing. Relaxed for the first time in weeks. It was nice to just roam around, holding hands like every other young couple instead of having to stay inside the house or look over our shoulders every few minutes in case the wacko was somewhere behind us.

We finished there in time to have dinner. Since we'd been told to avoid restaurants because they were too enclosed and not easy to get out of if we needed to, we headed back to the apartment to have some dinner. Ben and Angela were there when we arrived and greet everyone very enthusiastically. They told my friends that since I never stopped talking about them when I was there, they felt that they already knew everyone. We invited them to join us for dinner and the girls all headed to the kitchen to figure out what to make. I offered to help but was adamantly told to go play with the rest of the boys and stay out of their kitchen. I wasn't going to argue with them. They looked mighty fierce.

I saw Bella pull Angela aside while Alice and Rose started grabbing things out of the cupboards. I'd ordered enough groceries that morning to make just about anything so I guess us boys were going to be surprised. I watched as Bella talked rather intensely to Angela for a few minutes and smiled as Angie grabbed Bella in for a quick hug and smiled at her. I didn't know what they were talking about but was happy to see Bella smile and return Angie's hug. My world was complete when my girlfriend, my old friends and new friends all came together in harmony.

Nothing was open on our list after dinner so us guys decided to have a movie marathon and snuggle with our ladies. We were warned against doing anything stupid like trying to get the girls into a club while we were here and I knew that one way or another, my parents or Charlie would find out if we tried. We made a quick trip down to the movie rental place just around the corner from the apartment. I knew I wouldn't be able to stay up too late since my first class was at 8am but the others would be sleeping in the living room so they could be up until all hours without bothering me. Bella lasted until about midnight before she started to fade and I bid everyone a good night as I swung her up in my arms and headed to the bedroom. Emmett made the usually snide remarks about me getting lucky, Bella gave him the finger and everyone laughed.

"Emmett, you're just jealous." she said just before I shut the door. We heard a cacophony of laughter come from the living room.

I put Bella down gently on the bed and quickly shed my clothes. She wriggled out of hers while lying down and threw them on the floor. I knew she wouldn't feel comfortable doing anything with the rest of our little family just on the other side of the door so I settled for holding her tightly in my arms, pulling the thick comforter over us. She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed.

I squeezed her tightly to me, "Everything okay, luv?"

She turned her face up to look at me and smiled, "perfect, Edward. I had such fun with everyone. I wish everyday could be like today"

"I do too Bella. Soon you will be out of school and you can move here with me to go to college. I know Emmett and Jasper have already put in application for pre-registry here."

"I really can't wait to be with you all the time Edward. I miss you so much during the week it's almost incapacitating."

I squeezed her a little tighter against my body, kissing her gently and relishing in just the feel of her beside me. "I know Bella. It's the same for me as well."

To lighten the mood, I lean my head down, my mouth closer to her ear, "Hey, do you want to come to my classes with me tomorrow. Both of my professors in the morning don't mind people auditing their classes. Maybe we could talk Alice into doing the shopping thing while we're at the college."

Bella giggled at my remark about Alice, which turned into full-blown laughter when we heard, "I heard that Edward and no you two aren't getting out going shopping with the rest of us!"

I shook my head and burst out laughing at my dear pixie sister with the bat-like hearing. "Fine Alice. But Bella is going to come to my classes!" I shouted back at her.

I kissed Bella one last time as her eyes started to droop and her head found her favourite spot on my shoulder. I grabbed my stereo remote from the nightstand and clicked on my CD player. We fell asleep listening to one of my favourite songs, You And Me by Lifehouse.

My alarm went off too soon for me. Waking up with Bella in my arms however was such a nice way to start the day. I roused her gently with a kiss, breaking it off before I got too aroused. We didn't have time to indulge in our physical feelings this morning. My alarm is set to just give me enough time to jump in the shower, dress and run to class. What can I say? I love my sleep.

Bella groggily watched me run around the room grabbing something to wear and silently laughing at me. She'd never seen me in a 'get ready for class' frenzy before and apparently thought that it was quite amusing.

She lay there until the last possible moment before getting up and dressed to accompany me to class. Being so close, we walked, grabbing a quick coffee on the way. I introduced her to each of my professors who I had a great relationship with. I tended to be the teacher's pet in any class I attended. I was just that charming. Bella snickered at me when I voiced my opinion on the matter and I turned to her with the best hurt puppy dog look I could achieve which just made her laugh harder. It was good to see her laugh.

We made it back to the apartment and ate a late breakfast with everyone. Alice was already organising the dreaded 'shopping excursion' and even Angela, Rose and Bella were groaning at her list of places she just had to go to. She just smirked at all of us and told us to all suck it up. Did I happen to mention my sister had a mean streak a mile wide?

Three hours and a late lunch later, we realised that we wouldn't have time to do everything left on the list so we all voted to visit the Aquarium and leave the Klondike Museum and Science Fiction Museum for next time. We quickly stopped at the apartment to stash all of the pixie's purchases in Emmett's jeep. He joked that he might have to leave Bella with me because their might not be any room for her. I replied that it worked for me but he'd have to explain her absence to my parents and her father. He cringed and we all laughed.

We wandered through the aquarium at a leisurely pace, none of us really wanting our group outing to end. We were much more than friends, more like a family. Granted Alice and Rose were actually blood relatives to me but Emmett and Jasper were more like brothers to me than just friends. Angela and Ben fit right into our little group as well and quickly became a much-loved part of our family.

We drew out the day for as long as we could but knew we'd have to get dinner together so everyone could head back to Forks. Angela, Alice and Rose realised that Bella was starting to feel apprehensive about leaving and offered to handle making dinner while we disappeared into my bedroom for a while. I held her as we laid down on my bed, listening to music and talking quietly about the coming week. The song Everything by Lifehouse came on and we just lay and listened to it, kissing each other gently and holding on to one another.

A soft knock on the door startled us, making us both jump. We laughed as we realised it was just one of the others letting us know that dinner was ready. We got up and joined everyone to eat. I glanced often over at my love, noticing the shimmering of tears in her eyes when she glanced up from her plate in my direction. I reached over to grasp her hand, caressing it softly. I knew what she was feeling. I was feeling it too. This separation during the week was getting harder and harder to do. I wasn't sure how I was going to last doing this until June when she graduated and we could make plans to never be apart again.

I helped the guys take everything down to Emmett's jeep and gathered Bella in my arms as we stood in the garage. I kissed away the tears that started to form in her eyes.

"It's only for four days sweetheart. I'll see you on Friday night, right after my last class. I'll be there for dinner."

"I know Edward. I'm just going to miss you so much. I love you."

"I love you too Bella."

With one last kiss, I helped her into the jeep and watched as it disappeared out of the parking garage. Sighing, I turned towards the elevator when a shiver went down my spine. It felt like someone was watching me. Looking around I didn't see anyone and put it down to what had been happening over the last few weeks and my over active imagination.

Ben and Angela were chilling out in front of the TV in the living room so I joined them, deciding it was a better choice then hiding in my room for the rest of the night missing Bella like crazy. At least out here, I could miss her and still have company. My cell range after a few hours. Seeing that it was Bella, I went into my room to talk with her. She was in my room, in my bed and how I wished I was there with her at that moment. A little pang went through my heart at the thought of her lying there missing me, surrounded by my things, listening to the CD I made for her. I tried to keep my voice strong for her. I could hear how close to the edge she was. She calmed down enough to go to sleep after I promised to call every night.

* * *

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the adventure in Seattle. Posted: February 4, 2010 Words = 3252


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friends's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.

* * *

**Happy Reading everyone! Thanks for following the story!**

**Cliffie alert. Don't hurt me!**

**LOL  
**

* * *

Chapter 25

**Bella's POV**

I really hadn't wanted to go back to Forks and face the stress of James after such an amazing weekend with the gang and Edward. It had been so freeing to pretend that all the madness wasn't real and enjoy spending time being in love and spending time with our friends.

Upon arriving back in Forks, I could feel the weight of everything squarely back on my shoulders. We unpacked the car and Alice and I headed into the house. Emmett drove Jasper and Rose to their houses so they could check in with their parents. We'd see each other in the morning to go to school.

I wasn't looking forward to school. The feeling of being under guard 24/7 was really starting to weigh on me. I just wanted my life to go back to normal. I wanted to be able to walk down the street with Edward on weekends, holding hands and shouting from the rooftops that I loved him and he loved me. I wanted to be able to go to school without feeling that an armed guard surrounded me.

Alice and I spent some time with her parents once we got to the house, telling them everything we did over the weekend and then I called my Dad, who actually had some good news on the James situation. The boy that they had arrested sitting outside in his car had decided to co-operate and give as much information he could about James. It wasn't enough to arrest him however, since hiring someone to sit in a car wasn't exactly illegal but it did give more weight to the fact that he was still stalking me. Dad had re-newed the restraining order that had lapsed so James knew he couldn't come within so much distance of me. The next best thing was to hire someone else to do it.

The boy also let the police know that the person that was feeding him information from the school about us was in fact Victoria. I knew I'd never liked her for a reason. I didn't know what she was getting out of the deal but it had better be good.

After talking with my dad for a while, I said goodnight and headed upstairs to get ready for bed. As soon as I was in bed and comfortable, I called Edward. We stayed on the phone for a while and said goodnight. I wished he were here with me. I missed him so much.

The week went by at a fairly fast pace. We got through classes without a lot of drama, which made for a pleasant time at school. Before we knew it, Friday night was upon us and we hurriedly got ready to drive to Seattle. I was quivering with excitement. Nightly calls with Edward just weren't enough to satisfy this craving for him that was inside me. Emmett continuously teased me all throughout the drive. I could feel the constant blush on my cheeks and was just glad Edward wasn't here to see it. I knew he loved making me blush and I'm sure would have loved joining in on the teasing.

When we finally arrived at Edward's apartment, he wasn't home. Figuring that he was just running a little late, we went around the corner to the little coffee shop and grabbed a quick bite after leaving a voicemail message for him. It was getting close to 6:30pm and we still hadn't heard from him and there was no answer on his cell phone. I'd talked to him just last night so he knew what time we would be here and no one had gotten a call about something coming up. We waited another half an hour at the coffee shop and we were all starting to get really worried. I'd tried to call Ben and Angela but realized that they had been going out of town today right after their morning classes for a little alone time and had probably turned their cells off.

By 7:30pm and still no sign of Edward, Alice called her dad. He called the security guard at the apartment building and requested that he let us up into the apartment and into the parking garage. He gave us a spare key that Edward had always left with them, just in case and we rode the elevator to Edward's floor very impatiently, running down the hall as soon as the doors opened.

"Hurry up Alice!" I almost screamed at her as she tried to get the key into the lock with shaking hands.

"I'm trying Bella!" She screamed back at me.

We finally got the door opened and walked through the foyer. The guys went towards the living room and us girls headed towards the kitchen. The sight we came across caused my heart to leap into my throat, I was almost choking in fear. Sitting on the kitchen counter was a half-unpacked bag of groceries and Edward's cell phone. What the hell? Well, that explained why he hadn't answered but where the hell was he?

"Emmett! Jasper" I yelled out to the boys. They came running to the kitchen and all I could do was point at what was in front of us. I looked at each of my friends one at a time, the same look of horror starting to come over their faces.

"The car!" I turned towards the door and ran down to the elevator, Jasper and Emmett on my heels. I impatiently waited for the elevator and flung myself into it as soon as the doors opened. I was shaking as we took the ride down to the parking garage. I knew exactly where Edward always parked. He'd told me when we'd parked there the prior weekend. His car was sitting exactly where it should be but as we got closer, we saw that the passenger side door was slightly ajar. I looked over to Emmett and Jasper and gasped.

"James!"

The both apparently had the same thought because Jasper quickly grabbed me, preventing me from reaching the car. I turned to him in rage. How dare he stop me!

"Bella, its a crime scene now. We have to call the police and see what evidence they can get out of it."

The horror of the situation started to manifest itself into a full-blown panic attack. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. My knees gave out and if it weren't for Jasper holding me, I would have hit the ground, hard.

Emmett grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and swore as he saw that there was no signal in the garage. He told us to wait there and ran for the elevator. "I'm going up to the lobby to alert the security guard and call the police. I'll call Carlisle while I'm up there."

Jasper hauled me close to his body in an attempt to calm me down but it wasn't working. All I could think of was that James had Edward. I was afraid of what he would do. He was so beyond sane that his mind could conjure up anything. The elevator doors opened and Rose and Alice came flying out.

"We couldn't find anything in the apartment so we thought we'd see if you had better ..... " The words died on Alice's tongue as she took in me standing, shaking in her boyfriend's arms. I started to shake my head as they approached us.

"Alice, Rose .. stay back." Jasper said as he moved me closer to them. "We have to wait for the police."

The next sound to rip through my head was of Alice screaming Jasper caught her in one arm just before she hit the ground. Everyone was quiet. The only sounds were the sobs coming from Alice and I. Rose just stood there in shock. No sounds coming from her. Emmett suddenly bounded out of the door for the stairs and grabbed Rose into his arms. It was in that moment that she broke down, sobbing into his shoulder.

"I called 911 and Carlisle. He's on his way here now with Esme. The cops should be here pretty quick since there is a precinct a few blocks from here."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth when we could hear the sound of sirens approaching the building, Two police cruisers came flying into the parking garage and screeched to a halt not far from us.

They approached us confidently, asking who had called in. Emmett stepped forward and started answering their questions. He also gave them my dad's name and number for more information on the case.

"You're sure this is related to the other situation?" one of them inquired of us.

Jasper answered. "Yeah. We're pretty sure it is. The guy is off his freakin' rocker. Just ask Chief Swan. He's dealt with him before."

They called in a forensic team to go over the apartment and car but told us it looked like it went down in the parking garage so it wouldn't be too long before we could get into the apartment. I really needed to be in there with all of Edward's stuff. I needed to feel close to him somehow.

The police were just finishing up in the apartment when Carlisle and Esme arrived. Carlisle immediately found out which officer was in charge and introduced himself to him. Explaining more about the situation that they could be dealing with. As we paced the living room, my cell phone suddenly rang. It was my dad. I guess the officer had called him and filled him in on what had happened. My hand shook as I raised the phone to my ear.

"Bells! Are you okay?" His voice was rough with concern.

"Oh Dad! We have to find Edward!" I all but screamed into the phone. My body was shaking uncontrollably. I felt soft warm arms surround me and turned my head to see Esme standing beside me. I melted into her, absorbing any comfort I could from her.

"We will, baby. We will." I heard the confidence in his voice and knew that he would do everything possible to find him. I didn't want to even think of my world without Edward in it.

* * *

Okay .. shorter chapter than normal but I need to switch over to EPOV :-)

Thanks for reading. Posted: February 11, 2010 Words = 1840


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friends's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.

* * *

**Happy Reading everyone! Thanks for following the story!**

* * *

Chapter 26

**Edward's POV**

I think saying good-bye to Bella after our weekend in Seattle was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do. Seeing her tears ripped my heart out. I wanted to grab her back out of the jeep and keep her with me but I knew that was impossible.

After everyone left, I returned to my apartment to clean up before Ben and Angela got home and retired to my bedroom. It felt like forever before Bella called to say she was home. We stayed on the phone for awhile and it killed me that we were so far apart. I could just picture in my mind as we talked how she looked snuggled in my bed at home. Once again I thanked the Gods that we had such great parents that understood our relationship and how much we did mean to each other in such a short period of time. I guess the way I've handled the bullshit with James put me up a few notches in Chief Swan's book. I'd never really spent a lot of time with him other than that stupid episode with the drugs. I guess I now knew why the Chief was so easy on me back then, considering he suspected that James had been involved but he didn't have any proof to do anything about it.

The week dragged by for me. Classes were boring or at least they felt boring. Nothing around me seemed to keep my interest for any length of time. I just kept thinking about Bella and hoping she was doing okay. She sounded fine when we talked on the phone every night but phone calls could hide things. I knew she hated me worrying about her when I couldn't be there.

I suffered through classes, spent some time hanging out with Ben and Angela and spent some time composing some songs at the piano at the school. On Wednesday I looked into maybe taking a music class and there was one that fit perfectly into my current schedule. I snapped it up thinking that I could spend some time with my first love after Bella, music.

It was finally Thursday and only one more day until I had Bella back in my arms. I couldn't wait. We had the rest of the "list" to go through on Saturday and Sunday was going to be a day to just veg out and be together. The others had plans to do something as well leaving me and Bella with much needed alone time. I could tell by our phone call that night that she was just as excited as I was.

Friday classes zoomed by in a rush and before I knew it, I was heading to the grocery store to grab a few things we might need for the weekend. I got to the now empty apartment around 4:00pm since Ben and Angela had decided to leave right after their last class for a little Bed and Breakfast just outside the city for some alone time. They did that a lot. Going to different Bed and Breakfast Inns was sort of their little hobby through the school year every few weekends. They said it was nice to just shut off the outside world and just be alone for a couple of days, just enjoying each other.

I started putting the groceries away when I realized that I'd forgotten the gift I'd picked up for Bella in my glove compartment. Grabbing my keys off the counter, I headed down to grab it.

As soon as I got off the elevator, I felt like I was being watched. I looked around carefully but didn't see anything. Continuing over to where my parking spot was, I unlocked the car and opened the passenger door. Reaching in towards the glove compartment, I suddenly felt a presence behind me. I started to stand up and turn when I felt a horrendous pain shoot through my head. My last thought before I passed out was of Bella.

I wasn't sure how much later it was when I regained consciousness. Squinting against the light that was on in room, I slowly, painfully turned my head to see where I was. I was lying on a bed in some sort of backroom. There was a window with bars on it on the wall beside the bed, a door across the room, and another room off to the side, which appeared to be a small bathroom. I could hear the voices of a man and a woman muffled through the closed door. They appeared to be arguing.

It was when I tried to raise my hand to my head that I realized my hands were tied together. The voices started to get closer to the door so I closed my eyes, turned my head towards the wall and pretended to still be unconscious. As the door opened, I realized that whoever it was talking about me and Bella.

"Do you really think that kidnapping him is going to make Bella want you? You're an idiot James!"

"Shut up Victoria! You know nothing about how Bella feels about me! She is mine and she knows it. This guy has brainwashed her or something! He will not stand between me and my Bella!" James sounded completely delusional. I couldn't believe just how much off his rocker he'd become. He hadn't been this nuts when I knew years ago.

"Well, what are you going to do with him? Kill him? That would be just plain stupid since everyone will know you're the one that took him. You fucking idiot! I didn't mind keeping track on that gang of snobs but this is it James! This is going beyond what you said you wanted to do. You told me you only wanted to scare her for putting you away and getting you in trouble with your father."

"Shut up about my father Victoria!"

"I'm not going to shut up James! Your Dad was pissed about what you did the last time! How do you think he's going to feel about kidnapping Edward Cullen, you fucking moron! Did you really think that you're going to get Bella? She fucking called the cops on you last time! You ended up going away and on probation. Her father is the fucking Chief of Police. God! Where the hell is your brain? You're in such deep shit now, I'm not sure I can get you out of it this time! You're Dad is going to fucking lose it over this. He doesn't want the authorities this close to his family. YOU FUCKING KNOW THAT! Fuck James! What the hell am I going to do with you?"

Holy shit! It had been Victoria feeding information to James! What is up about James' father? What the fuck?! This was not looking good but I wasn't sure if it was bad for me or for James.

I could hear him almost whimper as Victoria shouted at him. "But Vic! I want her!"

"You don't always get what you fucking want James! For fuck's sake! You know it won't be long until Aro hears about this! Fuck! He is going to fucking send you away! That's unless the cops get to you first! Fuck!" she screamed at him again.

I could hear her pacing around the room, pausing every once in a while by the bed as if she was looking at me. I could hear her muttering under her breath "How can I fix this?"

I could tell her what I wanted her to do, I thought sarcastically. Just fucking let me go. James was screwed anyway.

"Okay. It looks like he's still unconscious so that might work in our favour." I felt her poke me to get some kind of reaction and I resisted showing anything. If this worked and got me out of here sooner, the better off I'd be. I forced my body to stay completely limp when she picked up my hands and let them drop back onto my stomach.

"We could go drop him off in the middle of nowhere somewhere and leave an anonymous tip or something. I hate to say this James but you have fucked yourself royally by doing this. Maybe the best thing is to call Aro and get him to fix this."

"NO Victoria! Please don't tell my dad!"

I heard a deep sigh. "Alright, then we're going to have to go drop him off and leave an anonymous tip on where he is. Fuck James! You know Aro is going to be so pissed. He isn't going to like what you've been doing in Forks but I think we can maybe salvage this situation. "

I held my breath. They were going to let me go? I couldn't believe my luck in having Victoria become involved in this situation. She was certainly the polar opposite of James and I began to wonder just exactly what their relationship really was. She was in Forks High so she wasn't very old unless she'd been held back for some reason. Were they related? Victoria sounded like she knew a lot about James and his family. And what did she mean that James' father wouldn't want this kind of attention on him? What exactly was this Aro involved in? Who the hell was this Aro guy besides being James' father? When he'd hung around our parties no one had mentioned anything about his father being someone important.

I continued to play possum while I listened to Victoria pace the room and mutter to herself. Apparently "daddy" was not going to be a happy camper with his son. I couldn't have been more pleased despite the predicament I appeared to be in.

"Okay James. This is what we are going to do. He hasn't seen your face and he's still passed out from the conk on the head you gave him. Geez James, I hope you haven't done any permanent damage, he should have woken up by now. Anyway, we're going to go put him somewhere out of the way but safe. The last thing we need is something to happen to him and he gets tracked back to you." I could hear the frustration in Victoria's voice as she spoke to James. She sounded a hell of a lot older than a teenager. "You know James, this is the thing that I was trying to prevent. The only reason Aro sent me to Forks was to keep you from doing something stupid where that girl was concerned. I agreed to a little scare tactics so you could have your revenge about going away and having to go to counseling but I told you not to go beyond that. I told you what would happen, dammit!"

I could hear the shuffle of feet and could just picture James' body language. Apparently, whatever the relationship was between these two, Victoria wore the pants. A weird feeling started going through my head. I felt lightheaded and my head was starting to really hurt. I guess I'd had too much adrenaline pumping through me when I first woke up to actually feel the pain.

"But Victoria .... " I couldn't even fathom how anyone could handle listening to the whining coming from an adult male. It would totally drive me nuts. Wow, random thought. I might actually have a slight concussion here.

I try to get my focus back on the other two people in the room but it's getting hard to concentrate. Victoria replies to him, but I can't quite make out what she says. The fuzziness started to overtake me and I felt myself losing consciousness for real.

_**A few hours later ...........  
**_  
I don't know how much time had passed since I'd lost consciousness. I kept myself still, remembering the pain that had engulfed my head just before I'd passed out earlier. I couldn't hear anything around me and could feel grass underneath me. No light penetrated my eyelids so I decided to slowly try and open them. Squinting, I looked around to discover that I seemed to be lying at the side of a dirt road. I didn't recognize the area at all but could see lights off in the distance. If I could get there, I could call someone. I slowly moved my head and pain shot through my head. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to sit up, raising my knees to rest my head on top of them until the pain subsided. Damn, that idiot really hit me hard.

I wasn't sure how much time passed before the pain subsided but it felt like forever. Okay, bit of an exaggeration there. I raised my head off my knees, more pain. I sat still again. The process to get on my feet felt like it took years and I didn't have my watch for some reason. Oh, another random thought! I very slowly started walking towards the lights down the road. At the pace that I could walk without doubling over in pain, it must have taken me a couple of hours just to get there.

Sighing with relief, I saw that it was an old farm and the lights were from the house and there were telephone lines going into it. I slowly walked up the driveway but as I approached, a blur of fur came barreling around the corner of the house, barking like crazy. I froze in my footsteps. I loved animals and especially dogs. Veterinary medicine was something I'd considered once upon a time. The dog stopped about 6 feet in front of me, placing itself between the house and me and kept up its steady barking. The sound was reverberating through my head at a painful decibel.

The door suddenly banged open and I could hear a man's voice yelling, "Sasha! What the fuck is all this noise about?"

He stopped on the porch as he saw me there, frozen and swaying on my feet in his driveway. I stood there staring between him and the dog when suddenly a wave of dizziness overcame me and I could feel my whole body starting to sink to the ground. The last thing I heard was "Sasha, come here!"

* * *

Okay .. so what do you think of where the story is going? Like ? Dislike? Let me know!

Thanks for reading. Posted: February 14, 2010 Words = 2511 


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friends's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.

* * *

**Happy Reading everyone!  
Thanks for following the story!**

**I truly appreciate every single review I get. They inspire me to keep the story going so thanks so much for sending them in!**

* * *

Chapter 26

Bella's POV

My body was shaking so badly I felt like it was going to fly apart in millions of pieces. I hung up the phone after saying a sobbing good bye to my Dad. He'd kept repeating that Edward would be fine and that we would find him soon but I just knew James had him. I had known all along that James would go after Edward. Deep down I'd felt it was a foregone conclusion. James was a certifiable nutcase.

Despite the fact that Edward and I had only confessed our feelings to each other mere weeks ago, I felt that a part of my soul was missing without him here. If anything happened to him, I'd probably need to be put in a room next to James in the loony bin. I laughed dryly to myself.

I felt Jasper and Alice approach me silently. Alice still had tears running down her face as she moved to hug me. Jasper's arms engulfed us both and I felt his soothing energy flow over us. He always had a way to calm and soothe everyone he cared about. I always thought he was some sort of empath but the boys just scoffed at me. How Edward couldn't believe in such things was beyond me given his sister seemed to always know things were going to happen before they did.

I returned their embrace but stoically refused to continue crying. I was going to try and believe my Dad, that the police would find Edward and he would be okay. I had to believe it.

I looked up and saw Emmett and Rosalie coming towards us.

"We can go back inside the apartment now. The forensic team is finished."

I sighed with relief. I wanted to be in that apartment so bad. I wasn't going to leave it until Edward was there safe and sound.

We straightened up the mess that the police had made of the rooms, knowing that Edward would have a cow if he saw the way they had left his things. That took us all of about an hour. Emmett sat down in the living room and turned on the TV. Esme and Carlisle sat down in the living room as well. Since none of us had had dinner yet, we decided to make something. There was plenty of groceries left to make something quickly.

After eating, I wandered into Edward's bedroom and lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. I'd been there a few minutes when I felt the bed move as someone sat down I opened my eyes to find Esme sitting next to me. Reaching out my hand, I felt her grasp it tightly. I knew then that she was more worried about him than she was letting on to everyone else. It made me feel a little better that his mom was comfortable enough with me to share her fears.

I wasn't sure how long we were there for but it must have been hours. We suddenly heard a flurry of movement and sound in the other room and we jumped up and hurried out to the living room.

"What's going on?" Esme tried to ask Carlisle before she noticed that he was on the phone. She grabbed my hand and squeezed tightly. I was shaking again. Was it good news? Bad news? I almost wanted to rip the phone away from Carlisle so I could hear it myself. It felt like hours but in actual fact were only minutes before Carlisle hung up the phone and turned towards us. The smile on his face and the tears of relief in his eyes said it all. Edward was alive. My darkest fear didn't come to pass.

"Edward has a severe concussion but is otherwise okay. He's at the hospital. A farmer on the outskirts of town told the police that Edward had wandered up his driveway before passing out. He called an ambulance and because of the APB out on him, the 911 operator called the police as well as the ambulance. He regained consciousness briefly in the ambulance, calling Bella's name."

I gasped and grabbed Carlisle's arm. "How soon can we get there!"

"We can go right now Bella."

The words were not even fully out of his mouth before I was running to the closet and grabbing my shoes and coat. I almost felt like Alice, bouncing on my toes at the door, impatient to get going. I was pretty sure that they all would have been laughing at me if it weren't for the concern that they had for Edward's condition.

We arrived at the hospital in record time thanks to Carlisle's driving. He showed his credentials at the reception desk and was directed towards Edward's location. He was still in the emergency area of the hospital while they assessed the extent of his injuries and they would only let Carlisle in his cubicle right away. I waited very impatiently, my heart racing, in the waiting area for what seemed like forever but in reality was only 10 minutes.

When Carlisle walked through the doors with a smile on his face, my knees almost gave way in relief. Edward was going to be okay. It was like my whole life suddenly regained meaning.

"He has a bad concussion and some cuts and bruises but he will be fine. He's been weaving in and out of consciousness since they brought him in but he's getting stronger. He's been moved to room now. Bella, Esme, you can come with me. The doctors here have approved a couple of visitors as a courtesy to me. I don't have hospital privileges here but they're being very generous."

I bounced up off the chair I'd been sitting at and rushed over to Carlisle, Esme right behind me. We made our way to Edward's room where Carlisle stopped outside the door. Turning to us, he told us not to be scared but that Edward was hooked up to a bunch of monitors and was being an IV to re-hydrate his body. He hadn't been gone long but they wanted to make sure that dehydration wasn't going to be a problem. I nodded. I was used to hospitals in all the time I'd been in them. Not to say I didn't hate them, I could tolerate being in one however.

I could feel Esme grasp my hand tightly as Carlisle pushed open the door and motioned for us to enter.

I sighed with relief as soon as I saw him. He was pale and still on the bed but it was so good to physically see him that my knees almost gave out. I stepped up to one side of the bed as Esme stepped to the other. Our eyes met as we both reached for one of Edward's hands.

He slowly opened his eyes and smiled at both of us. I leaned down and gently kissed him and felt him sigh in relief.

"I was so afraid I'd never see you again" he whispered.

"Me too." I answered, tears forming in my eyes.

His mother leaned over and kissed his forehead, tears streaming down her face. "I'm going to go sit with Alice. She's beside herself with worry and I feel so much better now that I've seen you."

"Okay Mom. Love you." Edward watched his mother leave the room and then turned towards his dad.

"Dad, is Charlie around?"

"Yes son, he's out in the waiting room at the moment. There's also an office from the Seattle PD waiting to speak with you as well."

"Great! Can you ask them to come in please?"

"Are you sure you're up to it? You have a pretty good lump on your head, you should be resting."

"Yeah Dad, I really need to get this out while I remember it all."

Carlisle left to get my Dad and the other officer and I moved towards Edward the minute the door closed. I slowly climbed up on the bed beside him and rested my head on his chest. The soothing sound of his heartbeat washing away most of my stress. I felt his arm move to engulf my waist and he slowly drew my body closer to his. I could feel the sigh of relief course through his body and felt his lips graze my hair.

Tears slowly ran down my face as the reality that he was safe sunk in. I knew he could feel my shoulders shaking with my silent sobs and his hand started to caress up and down my back.

"It's okay Bella. I'm going to be fine."

"I know. I know." I couldn't seem to stop the tears no matter what he said.

We heard footsteps outside the door and I went to move off the bed but was stopped by Edward's arm tightening around my waist. I looked up at him and he brought his hand up to my face, wiping away the tears on my cheeks. Kissing me softly, he brought my head back down to his chest and greeted his father as Carlisle walked in the door.

I could hear him clear his throat and peeked up to see a disgruntled look on his face as he looked at me lying on the bed with Edward. He was a stickler for hospital rules and I could tell he wasn't pleased.

"Dad, stop looking at Bella like that. She stays where she is. This isn't your hospital."

Carlisle looked sheepish for a moment and shrugged. Edward just laughed at him.

"Son, this is Officer Bransen of the Seattle PD. He was assigned your case when we reported you missing."

I laid against Edward quietly, listening to the conversation around me just absorbing the feeling of him alive and breathing.

"Officer Bransen." Edward greeted the man with my father. "Charlie, I found out some information you might like to know about James."

My father stepped closer to the bed and I could feel his hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently.

"What's that Edward?"

"Have you ever heard the name Aro?"

"Aro? Are you sure that's what you heard?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Aro is the head of the Volturri Family, They head a mafia type organization in the Northwest portion of the United States."

"Well, he's James' father." I could feel the tension in the room rise tenfold as soon as the words were out of Edward's mouth.

"His father!" I could hear the surprise in my Dad's voice.

"Yeah. His father. I woke up in a room to the sounds of James arguing with a woman. Apparently it was Victoria that was spying on Bella in Forks. According to what I heard, she did it to try and keep tabs on James and how far he went with his scheming. He wanted revenge on Bella for having to go to jail and through counseling. He didn't believe he needed it and was extremely resentful. His father had warned him about stepping out of line when he found out about that incident after the fact. Victoria was supposed to make sure he didn't and she is now pissed off at James and terrified of what Aro will do now."

"Damn!" I jumped at the sound of my father's voice cursing and Edward instantly held me closer. It seemed to be a natural reaction on his part and I couldn't be happier.

"From what I gathered of their conversation, James is terrified of his father. This just might be what we need to get rid of him out of our lives. I don't think his daddy will be very happy with his latest stunt. Victoria mentioned the fact that Aro didn't like a lot of attention turned to him and his activities. It makes sense to me now knowing he is part of some type of mafia."

I shivered in reaction to his words. James' family was mafia? No wonder he acted like he could get away with anything he did.

My father and Officer Bransen asked Edward a lot more questions about his kidnapping, getting as much details on it as Edward could remember. As soon as Carlisle noticed that Edward started to waiver in his response time, he requested that the questioning end so that he could get some rest. I went to move off the bed but was stopped by Edward's arm gripping me tight.

I looked up at him to see him staring at me, "you stay here or I leave."

"Edward, visiting hours aren't even open yet. She can't stay right now."

He looked over at his dad with a stubborn look in his eye. "I mean it Dad. Either she stays here with me, or I go home now."

Carlisle must have realized that he wasn't kidding. As I buried my face in Edward's neck, hiding my flushed face, I heard him sigh.

"Very well. I'll let the Doctors know. Since they highly recommend a few hours of observation, I'm sure they won't fight you on this."

I felt his hand squeeze my shoulder before I heard the three of them leave the room, my father quietly saying good bye to me before the door shut.

I shifted slightly against Edward to get a little more comfortable and felt him reach under my chin to raise my face up to his. A gentle kiss turned into something passionate within seconds of his lips touching mine.

All was right with my world right now. I was back in Edward's arms.

* * *

**Okay .. so what do you think of where the story is going? Like ? Dislike? Let me know!**

**Thanks for reading! Posted: February 22, 2010 Words = 2373**


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friends's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.

* * *

**Happy Reading everyone!!**

**  
I truly appreciate every single review I get. They inspire me to keep the story going so thanks so much for sending them in!**

**Welcome to new readers and thank you for reading!**

* * *

Chapter 28

Edward's POV

I lay in the hospital bed with Bella snuggled up carefully in my arms in state of mind no conducive to rational thinking. I was angry. Beyond angry at James and his actions. They had devastated Bella. I'd seen her eyes when she first came into my room and knew beyond a doubt that she'd been holding on by a thin thread until she'd seen me with her own eyes. I wasn't about to let her leave my side any time soon. Not only did she need the reassurance that I was okay, I needed to know that she was too.

As I held her, I thought back over the conversation I had with Charlie, my dad and the other officer. It wasn't until I was relaying the conversation that I'd overheard between Victoria and James to them that I realized why the name Aro had been so familiar. My theory was confirmed when I saw the look in my father's eye. Our family lived very comfortably in Forks but what people didn't know about us was that there was more behind our wealth than just my parents' careers. They had both come from very wealthy and powerful families but didn't like to advertise that fact. The name Aro had come up in conversations between my parents and I knew that they knew him somehow. Finding out that he was some sort of mafia boss certainly confirmed the theories I'd always had about my grandparents. My mom and dad had kept far away from the "family" business once they married. Not wanting to have anything to do with that type of lifestyle but I knew that they still had contact with a few old friends.

I had a feeling that James was going to be taken care of pretty soon without anymore stress on Bella or myself. Bella stirring in my arms drew my thoughts away from my musings. I tightened my arms around her and felt her sigh into my neck. The feel of her warm breath on my skin felt like heaven. There were a couple of moments when I honestly believed that I was going to die at the hands of that mental case.

The door opened slowly and I saw my father's head peek around the corner. I beckoned him in, indicating to be quiet so as not to waken Bella. He came up to the bed silently and leaned down to me.

"I made a phone call." he said softly and smiled.

I smiled in return, knowing I'd been right about that look in his eye earlier. James had been dealt with.

"The hospital has given permission for Bella to stay here tonight. It seems they don't want any problems if something happened to you if you left even if you leave against their recommendations. I think they may be a little afraid of me." he chuckled over that last part. "How are you feeling?"

"Head hurts quite a bit, I won't lie but I feel much better with Bella here."

"She was pretty devastated when we found out you'd been kidnapped. I'm not sure how she got through it even with your mother's help. They spent the whole time in your bedroom waiting for the phone to ring."

I looked down at Bella's tranquil face and wondered myself how she stood it. I knew beyond a doubt that if anyone had kidnapped her, I'd be like a uncontrollable grizzly bear, wanting to kill everyone in sight.

"Is Mom okay?"

"She is now that she knows you're okay. She is just beyond pissed now. It's just a good thing that I didn't make that phone call in front of her." he laughed as he envisioned my mother's reaction. "She probably would have put a hit out on James. How is it we didn't see the connection before?"

"I don't know Dad. I didn't make the connection until I was relaying the conversation to you guys. I should have recognized his name too but I guess it has been so long since we were in contact with them, I didn't even recognize him when everything went down before."

"Neither did I son. I feel bad that if we had recognized him, maybe what happened to Bella could have been avoided."

I could feel Bella stir. The sound of our voices starting to wake her up. I held my finger to my lips to indicate to my Dad that I wanted to halt the current conversation. I knew I'd have to tell Bella soon about what we found out but not right now. She'd been through enough in the last few hours.

Dad nodded as he squeezed my hand and silently left the room.

I would be stuck here for the next day at least so I knew that no one in the waiting room would be going very far away. I just hoped my Dad could convince everyone to go to my apartment at least and get something to eat. With Bella in here with me, I knew that the hospital would not allow anyone else besides my parents in the room.

Once Dad had left the room, Bella seemed to settle back down into a deeper sleep and I slowly lowered my head back onto the pillow, nuzzling my nose into her hair and breathing deeply of the scent of strawberries. I'd missed that scent all week. I drifted off to sleep, knowing that a nurse would be coming in to wake me every 2 hours as protocol for a concussion demanded. It was going to be a very long night with very little sleep.

* * *

I woke up to empty arms and judging by the light outside, I surmised it to be sometime in the late afternoon. I turned my head towards the sound I could hear, realizing that Bella was just in the bathroom. I laid my head back down and waited.

The door opened to reveal my beautiful girl, full smile lighting her face. I returned the smile wholeheartedly, knowing that James was now a thing of the past. I wanted to wait, however, until we were back in my apartment to tell Bella. I wasn't sure how she would take the news that if we had been able to do something about James years ago, she wouldn't have had to go through what James had done to her.

Seeing me awake, she rushed over to my bedside. "You're awake!!"

I helped her climb back up beside me and kissed her softly. "Just woke up."

"How's your head feeling? Is it still really sore or a little better? I know you must be really tired with the nurses waking you up all night."

"Head's not too bad now. The lump hurts more than anything. I should be fine after some rest and ice."

The door opened and the resident doctor came in, looking slightly disapproving to see Bella on the bed with me. I just grinned at him and tightened my arm around her when she made to leave the bed.

"How are we feeling this afternoon, Mr Cullen?"

"Just dandy! I'm ready to leave." I said, smirking at him while I kissed Bella's forehead.

"Yes, I'm sure you are. Let me have a look and we'll see about getting your release papers filled out."

He checked my eyes, my head, my blood pressure and pulse. Bella watched everything he did closely.

"Everything seems to be fine, although you are going to experience some headaches for the next few days that might interfere with your vision. I'd suggest taking a few days off from school to let you body heal properly."

"Thanks Doctor. I'll do that."

He nodded and left the room to go deal with my paperwork. Bella slid off the bed and grabbed my clothes from the closet across the room. After helping me dress, we sat and waited for the nurse to bring my release papers and a wheel chair. I knew the drill, no one left here under their own steam. The door opened and I was surprised to see my Mom walk in.

"Mom? What are you still doing here? I thought you'd at least go to my place and rest for a bit."

"Dear, it late afternoon. I rested this morning while your father stayed here. He's resting now. I've pulled the car around to the entrance so whenever you're ready, we can leave."

She came over and gave both Bella and I hugs before sitting down in the chair beside the bed, leaning back and closing her eyes. She looked so tired.

The nurse finally arrived and we were out of there. It was a relief to finally get back to the apartment. Ben and Angela were getting home when we arrived so we all filled them in on the events that had transpired over the past day or so. To say that they were relieved that I was okay would be putting it mildly.

Dad and I had decided that we would fill everyone in on everything the minute we were all together again. He called everyone to gather in the living room and was just about to talk when the phone rang. I grabbed it without looking at the call display.

"Hello?"

"Edward? Is that you, son?"

"Yes, this is Edward. Who is this?"

"It's Aro, dear boy. I wasn't aware you were being released from the hospital so soon. I'm happy to hear that you are alright and wanted to apologize to you. This situation will never happen again."

"Aro! It was kind of you to call." As I repeated his name, my parents and Bella looked at each other and me wide-eyed. The rest of the room just looked puzzled.

"My dear boy! It has nothing to do with kindness. I was beside myself upon hearing what James had been up to. How is your girlfriend? Is she okay? Please extend my humblest apologies to her for what has happened and reassure her that she will never see or hear from him again."

My eyes widened. I didn't know if I wanted to hear anymore about what he chose to do about his son. I ended the call by saying that I was still recovering and needed to go and rest. I passed the phone to my Dad after Aro inquired as to whether he was there. My father wandered out onto the balcony to continue the call in private, my mother at his side. Aro's beliefs in how people should behave, particularly his son, were very rigid and I was sure he was filling my father in on what James' punishment would be for disregarding his father's edicts. I found myself almost feeling sorry for him. Almost, but not quite.

Bella snuggled against me on the couch and I whispered to her that James was out of our lives for good. She looked into my eyes and must have realized she didn't want to know the how or why of it. Sighing, she smiled as she kissed me. I deepened our kiss until I heard the distinct sound of a throat clearing. Bella blushed as she realized where we were and I just grinned at everyone.

"Sorry folks. Got a little carried away there."

My father informed everyone of everything that had transpired since our private conversation very early this morning. Although they weren't entirely sure who Aro was beyond being James' father, they knew that the situation had now been taken care of and we didn't have to look over our shoulders anymore. Life could get back to being a hell of a lot more simple for Bella and the rest of us and I could concentrate on us rather than waiting for the other shoe to drop.

After talking to Charlie, who agreed that Bella could stay a couple of days with me because of my concussion, Em, Rose, Jasper and Alice all decided to go home with my parents. After a ton of goodbye hugs, Bella and I were finally alone for the first time in a long time, with nothing hanging over our heads. We ordered take out for us and Ben and Angela, sat around the living room relaxing and chatting for a couple of hours before my head started to let me know it was really time to rest.

We said goodnight to the roommates and headed to my room. I stripped down to my boxers and climbed into bed while Bella ran to my en suite to change. She came out wearing a cute tank top and boy shorts, a couple of aspirin and glass of water in hand. I smiled gratefully at her as she handed me the meds and downed them quickly. She climbed into bed with me and snuggled up close. I could feel the stress of everything fade away as I felt her body next to mine. I wasn't up for more than cuddling right now, but it was heavenly to just have her in my arms, in my bed, in my apartment with nothing to worry about besides a headache that would go away in a few days. I started humming her song in her ear and could feel her body relax and her breathing even out. I wasn't far behind.

* * *

Okay .. so what do you think of where the story is going? Like ? Dislike? Let me know!

Thanks for reading! Posted: February 27, 2010 Words = 2376


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.

* * *

**Happy Reading everyone!!**

**  
I truly appreciate every single review I get. They inspire me to keep the story going so thanks so much for sending them in!**

**Welcome to new readers and thank you for reading!**

* * *

Chapter 29

Bella's POV

_It was over? Really over? We could actually get on with being just a normal couple now? _I couldn't believe it. I tightened my arms around Edward as we lay in his bed together. Everyone had left for home now and except for Ben and Angela, we were alone in the apartment. It felt strange to now have the tension that had been there from the start of our relationship gone.

Charlie had agreed to let me stay with Edward for a few days to take care of him because of the concussion he had. It was going to be a time with little sleep but I was just so happy to be with him but I didn't care. I was actually surprised at how accommodating my Dad had been throughout our relationship. Something in the past few weeks had turned the tide on how he felt about Edward and I would be forever grateful for whatever it had been. At first, he had been adamant about me not seeing Edward in any way, shape or form. Now he was allowing me to spend days with him in Seattle. It seems we had his blessing.

The next few days passed fairly quickly despite the lack of sleep we got. I had to wake him up every few hours and check his eyes and everything else Carlisle had listed to make sure the concussion was healing. I couldn't wait for him to be better. I missed him. We couldn't make love at all while he recovered from his injuries to his ribs and head until he got the okay from Carlisle. It really seemed weird that our parents knew what we did behind closed doors but I guess that's just the way our families were, open and honest with each other.

We spent tons of time with Angela and Ben, having dinner, watching movies and just hanging out.

Aro had ended up sending Edward and I gifts to apologize for what James had done to both us. I didn't really want to accept it but Edward made me see that it would be an insult to Aro if I didn't. The last thing I wanted to do was insult that man.

We never actually found out what happened to James. Alice and Rose reported that Victoria was no longer at the school when we talked with them on Monday night. I guess that made sense since she didn't really belong there. Although I was angry at her for her deception and for waiting so long to step into the situation, I was grateful that she had stepped in to save Edward. I may be young, but I knew that Edward was the other half of my soul. Without him, I would only exist, not live.

I ended up staying the whole week with Edward, Carlisle had contacted the school and got me leave for the week, explaining the trauma that I'd gone through over the weekend. The school was just happy that they could get rid of the extra security guards now and all my teachers were informed to give Alice or Rose any work that I needed to get done. Carlisle even had the homework packets sent by courier to me all week.

During the week, it felt that Edward was distant from me. He wouldn't really talk about what had happened while James had him and he didn't seem to want to touch me at all. I knew that I'd been looking at a week of no physical relations with him due to his injuries needing time to heal but I though we would be able to at least be affectionate towards each other. Kissing and caressing wouldn't have been out of the question. We slept in the same bed and he would hold me while we slept, but something felt off. I was getting a little scared that I was losing him.

By Friday, Edward was feeling much better. His head was down to just a mild headache, the lump had gone down and his bruises were looking much better. He decided that we were going to go out for dinner on Friday and invited Angela and Ben to join us before they took off on another of their Bed and Breakfast excursions. The rest of the gang was going to come on Sunday and I would be driving back home with them Sunday night. That left us Saturday all to ourselves. The apartment would be completely empty except for us. I could barely wait. In one of the packets from home, Alice had snuck in a package of her own, which included everything I needed for Saturday.

I was almost giddy with excitement. I just had to figure out a way to get Edward out of his apartment for a couple of hours so I could get ready. I texted Alice and Rose to see if they could come up with an idea without him catching on to what I was going to do. Alice responded that she was going to get Esme in on the plan and I could feel myself blush thinking that Esme would know what Edward and I would be doing that day.

Esme ended up phoning Edward and asking him to do some errands for her that she could only have done in Seattle. That gave me the perfect window of time to get my surprise ready for him. I managed to find all the ingredients I needed to make dinner for us and with the items Alice sent, I was sure it would be a wonderful evening for both of us.

I found myself giggling as I got the apartment ready. Thank the Gods that Alice read Cosmo! Once I had everything the way I wanted it, I had a quick shower and got dressed. Esme had made sure that the last appointment Edward had to be at was over at 6pm so he would be home by 630pm.

Dinner was ready, I had the lights down and my CD playing, everything was set. A giddy feeling came over me as I sent Edward a text to head to Ben and Angela's room when he got in and change into the clothes in there. He instantly replied with why he had to do that to which I replied that it was a surprise. Ben's room was the closest to the apartment door and you couldn't see the kitchen or dining room from it.

I ran into his room to put the finishing touches on my hair and make up as per Alice's instructions and was just done when I heard his key in the door. I waited until I heard Ben's door close before going into the kitchen to check on dinner and then waited in the living room for him to come out..

I waited in the kitchen until I heard Edward come out of Ben's room and I walked swiftly out to the living room so I could greet him as he walked in. I suddenly felt shy as he came through the doorway and he stopped in front of me. Blushing, I smiled and leaned up to kiss him. His hands caught my waist, pulling me closer to him to deepen the kiss, slowly and sensuously. I reluctantly pulled away after a few moments and he looked at me quizzically.

"Dinner." I whispered breathlessly. It felt like all the air had been removed from the room.

He laughed at the physical manifestation of his affect on me.

"You look beautiful Bella."

The heat rose more in my face and I looked down at my feet for a moment before looking up and smiling at him. I always felt beautiful when he looked at me that way.

I grabbed his hand in mine and led him into the dining room which I had setup for us to eat. He seemed amazed that I had gone to so much trouble and said as much.

"I wanted to cook for you and have a nice evening, just the two of us. We really haven't had a quiet evening to spend together."

He smiled at me and leaned down, kissing me behind my ear in just the spot that made heat spread throughout my body. I giggled and pulled away reluctantly.

"Sit please. Dinner's ready."

We ate in companionable silence for a while, enjoying the music and just being with each other with no threats hanging over our heads.

I needed to talk to Edward but I wasn't sure how to start the conversation I needed to have with him. I knew that part of his feelings for me had been an overwhelming urge to protect me and I needed to know if that was all he felt or if there was more now that James was out of the picture. My mind had started this course of thoughts after we had received that phone call from Aro. I could feel the relief that went through everyone but Edward had looked at me differently and I was afraid of what that look had meant.

I knew I was letting my insecurities take over but I had to ask him. I still couldn't believe that he wanted me, loved me. I knew how I felt. I'd felt the same for the past few years. My feelings had never changed since the second I admitted to myself that I loved Edward. Alice had been my staunch supporter in believing that eventually Edward would see what was right in front of him and would fall hopelessly in love with me too. Alice was rarely wrong. I'd learned the hard way to never bet against her feelings on something. But rarely didn't mean never. What if she was actually wrong about how Edward would feel about me?

I was scared, sitting there in silence across from him. He kept looking at me with quizzical looks, like he knew something was up but couldn't put his finger on it.

We finished dinner and he helped me clear the table. I had found ice cream and a frozen pie in the freezer and chose that for dessert. I lead him to the living room so we could sit and relax while we ate, hoping my courage would assert itself so that I could talk to him.

We finished eating and I knew I had to bit the bullet as the saying goes and get this over with. Turning towards him, I took his plate from him and put it on the coffee table with mine. He leaned over and kissed my cheek as I sat back on the couch and turned towards him.

"Dinner was lovely, Bella. Thank you."

I smiled, happy that my efforts were appreciated. Taking a deep breath, I took his hands in mine and looked up into his face.

"Edward, I need to talk with you."

He seemed to hear the seriousness of my tone of voice and my shaking hands and gently squeezed my hands in his. "You can talk to me anytime luv."

"I know Edward. I just don't know how to ask you this."

"Whatever it is, It's okay."

"Edward, what do you feel for me? I mean, I know that you feel protective of me. I am so grateful to you for being there for me throughout all the stuff James has been doing for the past few weeks. And I know you have told me that you love me during those weeks too. But now that I'm safe and James is no longer out there to hurt me you seem different. You've been so distant this week and it feels like you don't want to touch me at all, at least not the way you touch someone you love. Have your feelings changed? Have you found that you don't love me after all?"

I could feel the tears start to well up in my eyes as I let my head drop and I looked at our entwined hands. I braced myself for his reply, my heart in my throat. I wasn't sure what I would do if he told me he had changed his mind about us or that his feelings just weren't what he thought that they were when he said those words to me.

The moments of silence in the room was deafening as I waited for him to respond to my questions. The tears had overflowed and were running down my face. I was just about to take my hands from his and escape somewhere else, anywhere but near him when I felt his hands leave mine and move to my face. He gently raised my chin so he could look into my eyes and I could see the emotions he was feeling in his very expressive green eyes.

My breath hitched and I hoped what I saw meant what I thought it did. His face was a picture of apology and love, he kissed me quickly but I felt the passion behind it.

"Bella. I do love you. Maybe even more so now I that I know what its like to believe I'd never see you again. Even saying it kills me. When James took me, I prayed that I could get away. I had to have one more chance to see you, kiss you, tell you that I loved you. He could have easily taken that away from us. Without Victoria's intervention, I really believe that he would have killed me to keep you from me. I am so sorry that you thought my feelings had changed. I didn't even realize that I'd been distant. I honestly wasn't aware I'd been doing it."

He swept me up in his arms and held me close, maneuvering me onto his lap so he could kiss me. It started out gentle but soon we were both consumed by the passion between us.

"I love you so much Edward." I told him as soon as we came up for air. "I was so scared."

"I'm so sorry babe. So sorry." He kept repeating the words over and over as he peppered kissed down my throat. My breath started to come quickly and I felt tingling spread through my body as Edward's hands started to caress my body.

I was in heaven. I loved how he touched me. The way he kissed me. I felt my body arch in response to the way my blood coursed hotly to the apex between my legs.

He swept me up into his arms and headed towards his bedroom. I turned my face towards him and kissed his jaw line up to the sensitive spot right behind his ear. I heard and felt him moan my name at the feeling I created in him. Smiling, I moved my lips back towards his mouth and kissed him gently, sweetly.

H e opened the door and paused, glancing around at the room. I had been hoping the evening would end this way. I'd put candles around the room, the bed was freshly made and turned down. I blushed as he looked down at me and smiled.

"I love it Bella." He kissed me sweetly and walked slowly to the bed. Placing me down on the bed and kneeled over me. His hand caressed the side of my neck, down to my shoulder, gently moving the strap of my dress aside. His lips quickly followed the path that his fingers took. I moaned at the feeling of his skin against mine. It felt like it had been forever since he had touched me in this way and I'd missed him so much.

I raised my hands to run my fingers through his beautiful, messy hair, tugging lightly, which I knew he loved. I felt his reaction against me. His hands went around my back to the zipper of my dress and I felt it slowly being drawn down. His lips moved down my skin, pushing my dress out of the way as they moved to my breasts. My back instinctually arched against his lips as he made his way to my hardened nipples. The feeling of his tongue against them almost undid me.

"Edward." I moaned out. "I need you."

I could feel his body's response against my leg. I moved my hands from his hair down his back, my fingers digging in slightly in reaction as he moved farther down my body, laving my skin with his tongue and nibbling with his teeth. His fingers moved against the edge of my dress, now sitting around my waist and tugged it slowly the rest of the way down my body. He moaned in appreciation at the site of my royal blue thong courtesy of one of Alice's shopping sprees. A faint smile touched my lips at the sounds he made. I loved hearing them as much as I knew he loved the sounds I made when we were together like this.

His lips traveled lower to where I needed him to be. My body arched higher as I felt tongue sweep over my clit before his lips enclosed around it and he sucked gently on the bundle of nerves. A scream escaped my throat as the intense feelings flowed through my body and overwhelmed my senses. My hands wove tighter through his hair, clenching the softness of it as he slowly entered a finger into my folds.

"Edward, more!" I cried

I felt him smile against me as he entered another finger inside me. As he pushed them in and out of me faster and faster, curling them up to hit the spot that would unravel me, I screamed as my release flared out of control knowing that we were alone tonight. My breath was slow in calming and I felt Edward kiss his way back up to my lips.

His kiss was deep and passionately loving as I felt him enter me. We both moaned at the feeling. We moved slowly, sensuously together. The feeling of him moving inside me was beyond measure. My legs raised up to encircle his waist, drawing him even deeper inside me. I heard him gasp at the feeling it created for both of us.

I could feel his tongue lathe my nipples once again as he drove himself harder and harder into my core. My body moving at counterpoint to his, sending both of us into a frenzy of sensations. I could feel the familiar tightening in my stomach and the tingling sensation start at the base of my skull, travelling down my spine. Edward's strokes became frenzied and I could feel my walls tensing, quivering around him. Our orgasms came at exactly the same moment, each of us screaming in ecstasy, tears flowing down both of our faces at the depth of emotion released.

We lay there panting, trying to catch our breath. As he started to move away from me, I gripped my legs around his waist tighter, refusing to let him go.

"Not yet. Stay."

He relaxed against me, lowering his head to kiss my neck. His hand moved up to gently caress my face, moving my hair back. It felt so good to have him become a part of me again. It had been so long since we had been together like this. After all the fear of the past few weeks, it was heaven to be in his arms, loving him with everything inside of me.

* * *

Well, this little story is coming to a close. Edward's next POV will be the final chapter with a short look into their future. I decided to leave it fairly open to a possible sequel in the future.

Posted: March 8, 2010 Words = 3416


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Summary: Bella falls in love with Edward, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way. Or does he? All Human. AU. All Canon couples eventually.

* * *

**Happy Reading everyone!!**

**  
I truly appreciate every single review I get. They have inspired me to write this story. **

**Welcome to new readers and thank you for reading!**

**Last chapter is in Edward's POV, I hope you all have enjoyed this story.  
Please check out the end of chapter note. **

* * *

Chapter 30

Edward's POV

I couldn't believe it was finally done. James was no longer in our lives. I knew that I could count on Aro to keep him away.

Last night had been magnificent. We were able to let go, relax and love each other the way it was always meant to be. Despite my stupidity for so many years, despite James and his craziness, we had actually made it. We were together and no one was going to come between us, ever.

I still couldn't believe that Bella had done all that she had last night. I was surprised that she had been confused all week but I had so much on my mind that I actually hadn't thought how my actions would affect her. I was an idiot. Of course my introspective moments this week would have confused her. I'd just had so many thoughts and feelings running through me.

The helplessness I'd felt since all this with James had begun. The fear I'd felt when James had grabbed me. I wasn't used to feeling that way. I had always known what to do and if I didn't, I could go to my parents and we'd always come up with a way to handle it. I had been so terrified that I would never see Bella again when James had taken me from my parking garage. I hadn't actually been afraid for myself, all my feelings had been about Bella.

Because of my scattered thoughts since leaving the hospital that I'd phoned my Dad a couple of days after I got out of the hospital, who suggested I might need to talk with someone. He said that it might be a good idea for Bella to also talk with someone again after recent events. Bella had made it clear that I needed to make myself scarce during the day, my dad had gotten me in to see a friend of his for an hour yesterday afternoon. I sort of laughed to myself now about how she went about that but I'll come back to that later. It had really helped to talk about everything that had happened over the last few weeks. We talked about how Bella and I had initially gotten together; how scared I had been when I realized what I'd done that night and the guilt I'd felt while I'd tried to find the girl that turned out to be Bella. Going through the pregnancy scare, how my feelings had come out about her during that time; the events with James terrorizing her and finally how I felt during the time James had me. By the end of the hour, I realized that I had really needed to talk with someone outside of the events happening in my life. I'd made arrangements to see him again the following week after classes.

I honestly hadn't realized how much I'd distanced myself from her while my mind had been in such turmoil. My arm tightened around her to draw her closer to me and I could hear her murmuring in her sleep while she nuzzled into my neck. Smiling, I kissed her forehead and held her tighter. She was my life now. I knew that most people would think us too young to know that but I did. I had absolutely no doubt that I was meant to spend a lifetime with her.

With that though running through my mind, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep with the scent of her wafting through my senses.

I was awoken to the sound of someone banging on the door. Turning I saw that the clock next to the bed read 11am. Damn! We'd slept through the morning. I'd wanted to make Bella a special breakfast after last night. The banging started again accompanied by loud yelling. Emmett, of course. I felt Bella stir beside me, drawing the extra pillow on the bed over her head to drown out the noise of my best friend. I laughed at her and drew the pillow off of her, kissing her soft lips gently.

"Come on luv. Time to get up. The gang has arrived and the leader is causing a ruckus in the hallway."

She moaned and my body instantly reacted to the sound. Cursing that there wasn't time to pursue the thoughts my body was giving me, I climbed out of bed and grabbed some jeans and a shirt out of the dresser. Making my way out to the door I let in our friends, giving Emmett a smack on his way by me.

"Could you have made any more noise? I do have to live here you know! Alice, why didn't you just use your key?"

She looked at me confused for a moment, "Oh, I left it in the kitchen the night that you went missing. I forgot to grab it again."

"Oh, alright." I hadn't seen the key when I'd been in the kitchen but thought maybe Bella had it. That I didn't mind at all. I'd planned on making her a key soon.

"Bella's in the bedroom if you girls want to see if you can rouse her. She didn't really want to wake up." I laughed at the memory of her snuggled in bed, hiding under the pillow.

The girls raced off to get Bella up and have some girl talk while us guys headed into the kitchen. Since it was close to lunch time, we made a bunch of sandwiches for everyone and were laying everything out on the coffee table in the living room just as the girls came out to join us. After the stressful week we all had, we decided to spend that afternoon watching movies and hanging out until they had to head back to Forks, taking Bella with them. I was not looking forward to that time and tried to avoid thinking of it while I snuggled with her on the couch.

The afternoon passed much too quickly and it was time to say goodbye to her. My heart hurt at the thought of the entire week without her. I'd be heading home Friday night for the weekend but wasn't sure how I was going to last 5 days with only hearing her voice on the phone and talking with her online but I knew we would be able to handle it. She would probably handle it much better than I. She was the stronger of the two of us.

I did make it through that week and every week while we were separated by the necessity of our education. Bella felt that it made our relationship that much stronger that we were able to keep it together throughout the separations we endured. My parents and her father were more than surprised that our relationship was so strong, considering our ages.

We traded off weekends, either I would go home, or she would come and stay with me. Her father had even bought her a reliable car so she could come to Seattle in safety. After his initial reaction to our dating, I was surprised he had become so supportive of our relationship after the threat of James was over. Pleasantly surprised though. I guess finding out that James had been behind the drugs at that party all along helped to change his mind about me.

Thanksgiving was spent at my parents house with Charlie joining us. Christmas turned out to be split between Charlie's house and my parents'. Our family was huge and everyone that hadn't met Bella through the years welcomed her with open arms.

Aro had even sent a joint gift to us care of my parents' house and we were shocked to find out that he had purchased a house in Seattle and put it in our names. He was going overboard in his efforts to make up for James' actions against both Bella and I. We decided to spend New Year's Eve in Seattle and we almost fell over when we went to check out Aro's gift. It wasn't the small house we were thinking it could be, it was a huge house with enough room to house our whole gang while we went to college, including Ben and Angela if they decided to join us. Bella wasn't really comfortable accepting the house but I knew we didn't really have a choice. You just didn't turn down a gift from Aro.

Ben accepted my invitation to move into the house and we sublet our apartment. I hadn't really felt 100% comfortable there after being abducted by James so it was more than a relief to give it up and move. My therapy sessions had continued for a couple of months and Bella had even joined me a few times when she was in town with me. Although neither of us would ever forget what had happened, we were both strong enough to get past it with a little help.

The gang would come to Seattle on some of the weekends that Bella came as well and we continued our exploration of Seattle's tourist spots. The plan was eventually developed that come the end of the school year in Forks, everyone would move into the house. That was the day I was living for, to have Bella in our home permanently. Never having to see the sadness and tears in her eyes, as we had to say good bye on Sundays. Never having this ache in my chest every week until I could see her again. This was what I was dreaming of and my dreams would soon come true.

* * *

Our little story has come to an end for now. I have a sequel running around my head along with a couple of other story ideas that are clamouring to be told. Please let me know if you'd like to see the story continue at some point. It would start as everyone finally moves to Seattle and would have more of Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rose in it than this part of the story has had :-)

Posted: March 9, 2010 Words = 1821


End file.
